Twist of Fate
by luminare91
Summary: Oliver finds himself at Smallville High. There he meets Chloe Sullivan, who instantly enchants him. For the fist time in a long time, life is looking up. But will the presence of an old enemy threaten his newfound happiness? Not the best summary.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Twist of Fate

**Rating**: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

**Summary**: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

**Warning**: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

_Author's Note: This is my first fic ever, so I'd really appreciate as many reviews as possible. I have no Beta, so all mistakes are my own.

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Chapter 1

Chloe wove her way through the crowded halls of Smallville High, trying desperately to balance her coffee cup in one hand, keep her backpack from sliding down her arm, and avoid slamming into someone all at the same time. She was late and she knew it. Of all the days for Clark to call wanting to investigate the latest meteor freak in Smallville and insist on checking something out before school, he had to pick today. And being the insatiable reporter that she was, Chloe hadn't been able to turn him down. She still didn't get why he hadn't just called Pete, but the prospect of ferreting out the secrets of Smallville had been too intriguing to pass up. Now she was ten minutes late for a meeting with the new student she was supposed to be showing around school. Not the best impression one could make. Draining the last of her coffee from the cup, Chloe dropped the empty container into the nearest trashcan before shifting the strap of backpack into a more comfortable position and bolting down the hall as fast as possible.

A few minutes later she was rounding the corner into the front office. She was slightly out of breath as she paused, scanning the room for the new student.

He wasn't hard to spot. Smallville was a tiny place. Chloe, despite having not grown up there, knew everyone, so he would have stood out anyway. But that wasn't why she noticed him. He was hot. Even sitting down, she could tell that he would tower over her. Considering she was only five three, that wasn't hard to do. He had blonde hair, a slight tan, was lean, and well muscled. Chloe immediately shoved her hand in her bag and dug out the piece of paper she'd been given with his name on it.

"Oliver Queen," she murmured. The name sounded familiar. She'd have to look it up later.

Stuffing the paper back into her bag, Chloe hurried across the room.

"Oh, my god," she said, still slightly breathless, as soon as she was in earshot. "I am so sorry I'm late. My friend had a homework emergency last night and I overslept. I hope you weren't waiting too long. I'm Chloe Sullivan."

Chloe almost winced at how easily the lie came. She was naturally a very truthful person. Exposing the truth was half the reason she wanted to be a journalist. She had always thought people had a right to know the truth. Unfortunately, one of the first things she had learned when she had discovered that her best friends was an intergalactic traveler from another planet, was that sometimes the truth was better buried. Clark never would have had a moment's peace if people knew that he was an alien with superpowers. And then there were the meteor freaks. No matter how many articles she published or how much evidence she gathered, no one would ever believed her.

Oliver looked up at the sound of the slightly breathless female voice that pierced his thoughts. He found himself looking at a petite, curvy blonde. Her cheeks were tinged with red and she was breathing a little heavily. She was eyeing him almost sheepishly.

He stretched out a hand cordially. "Oliver. And you didn't keep me waiting too long."

A wide grin stretched across Chloe's face as she accepted. "Nice to meet you. If you want, I can give you a quick tour of the school before class starts."

"Sounds great." He hoped she wouldn't notice the false positivity he was forcing into his voice. But one look at her face as he stood, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, was enough to tell him that she'd caught on.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that you don't want to be in Smallville," Chloe said, glancing at him as she led the way down the hall.

Oliver sighed. "What gave me away?" he deadpanned.

"You mean other than the fact that you look less than thrilled to be here?"

"And here I thought I was hiding that," Oliver replied dryly.

Chloe chuckled softly and shrugged. "Smallville definitely isn't the most interesting place to be. For entertainment we have the local coffee shop and cow tipping. It's not the big a stretch to assume that you'd rather be somewhere else. It's not the big a deal," she added quickly. "I felt the same way when my dad moved us here from Metropolis. What brings you out here, anyway?"

She knew immediately that she'd crossed a line. Oliver's face hardened and his eyes became blank. She could feel the tension rolling off his body.

"If it's something you don't want to talk about you don't have to," she said quickly. "I didn't mean to pry. It's just kinda in my nature to ask questions. I'm the editor of the Torch, that's the school paper. And well, I'm really the only reporter and sometimes I don't know when to to quit, so feel free to tell me to shut up, which I should totally do now, shouldn't I?"

She felt her cheeks warm. "Sorry about that. I tend to ramble when I'm nervous or embarrassed. The first doesn't happen to often. The second all the time. I have a knack for putting my foot in my mouth. So anyway, this is the gym..."

Oliver was only half listening as Chloe abruptly changed the subject to the layout of the school. No one had ever read him like that. After his parents' death and with everything else in his life, he'd gotten good at masking his feelings. Chloe had had no idea that the reason for his transfer was a sore subject, that everything it entailed was painful for him to think about. Frankly, he didn't blame her for asking the question. It was the standard first question for the new kid. What amazed him, was how quickly she changed tact. It was refreshing.

The bell rang, breaking through his thoughts and Chloe's monologue about which classrooms were on which hall. She glanced around at the student's filing into the various rooms before catching Oliver's eye.

"What's your first class?" she asked. "I can show you where it is."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have to get to class?"

"Nope. I have a free period. Well, actually, I'm supposed to be working at the Torch." She grinned. "Being editor gets me a lot of extra credit and time off."

He pulled his schedule out of his pocket and handed it to her. Chloe took the paper, slightly surprised that he hadn't just told her. She quickly glanced at it and handed it back.

"This way," she said, starting down the hall. Chloe was mentally kicking herself. She knew she'd said something wrong when she'd asked Oliver why he'd moved to Smallville. And of course she had to further put her foot in her mouth by rambling on about the stupid school. She clearly hadn't had enough caffeine that morning, which could be attributed to Clark and his damn meteor freak problem. She'd probably convinced Oliver that Smallville was just as backward and ignorant as he'd assumed it would be.

Way to go Sullivan, she snapped angrily.

Chloe stopped in front of the door to the science lab. She quickly plastered a wide smile onto her face before turning back to Oliver.

"Here you are. I've heard that Mr. Schwartz is the most boring teacher in school," she warned. "Try not to fall asleep."

A small smirk pulled at Oliver's lips. "I'll keep that under advisement. Thanks for the tour."

She smiled wider. "No problem. If you have any questions, the Torch is right down the hall. And if you can't find me there, try the Talon. I'm addicted to coffee, or so Clark says. I'm usually there for a pick-me-up after school. Good luck with the rest of the day."

Chloe spun on her heel and hurried down the hall, mind already focused on the mystery she and Clark had encountered that morning and off the fact that she'd made a fool of herself in front of the new guy.

Oliver watched her go, completely oblivious to the other students pushing past him. He got the feeling he'd offended her somehow or that she just didn't like him. For some reason, that bothered him. He hadn't cared what people thought of him in a long time. So why did some tiny little reporter suddenly seem so damn important?

Shaking his head, he entered the classroom and gazed around for an empty seat. His heart stopped at the sight of a familiar figure seated at the back of the classroom. Of all the places to run into his old schoolmate, it had to be Smallville high. What were the odds they would both end up in some small town in Kansas? For a moment, Oliver contemplated the possibility that he was wrong and that he was looking at someone else. But then the figure raised his head and, as though sensing Oliver's gaze, looked right at him.

The name fell from Oliver's lips like a curse.

"Lex."


	2. Chapter 2

**Title**: Twist of Fate

**Rating**: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

**Summary**: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

**Warning**: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

_Author's Note: First, I would like to say thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. I can't tell you how much it meant. As you can tell, it inspired me. Again, I have no Beta, so all mistakes are my own.

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Chapter 2

Oliver's grip on his backpack tightened. Of all the people to run into, he had to run into Lex. He stood, frozen in the doorway, for a long moment, seriously contemplating just leaving. Lex quickly looked away. He turned to a nerdy looking boy sitting across the aisle and said something in an undertone. The boy hurriedly dug through his backpack until he produced a set of papers and handed them to Lex, who glanced over them. Oliver felt his jaw tighten. Things had definitely changed since Excelsior if Lex was getting someone to do his homework.

Someone plowed into him, knocking him several steps further into the room. He'd completely forgotten that he was blocking the door. Turning to apologize, Oliver found himself facing a very angry brunette.

"Watch where you're going!" she snapped. "Just because you're doing an impression of the jolly green giant, doesn't mean that you can block the doorway and walk all over people."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. But before he could say anything, the girl brushed past him and plopped down in a seat in the middle of the room. Lex was staring at him again, cold amusement flickering in his eyes.

Perfect, Oliver grumbled to himself. Just perfect.

Trying not to draw further attention to himself, Oliver quickly sat in the nearest open chair and turned his attention to the front of the room. He could feel the Lex's gaze burning a hole into the back of his head.

He'd known that there was a Luthorcorp plant in town. Hell, it supplied most of the jobs. But he'd never in a million years considered the possibility that Lex would be in Smallville. The Luthors had always been elitist. Lex had displayed those qualities even when he was getting picked on. It had been his desperation for popularity and power that had turned everything upside down in the first place. But, now that Oliver thought about it, the prospect didn't seem that far fetched. Lionel had to be doing the same thing his guardian was doing: sending Lex someplace where he couldn't publicly get into trouble. If there was anything Lionel Luthor hated, it was bad publicity. Oliver had learned that first hand.

For a brief moment, Oliver entertained the thought that he and Lex would just ignore each other, like they had for their last few months at Excelsior. He quickly dismissed it before he could get his hopes up. After everything that had happened at Excelsior, there was no way Lex was going to leave him alone. It was obvious that the tables had turned. Oliver could see that from the way Lex was working the room. He'd been in Smallville long enough to establish his authority. How else would he have gotten that kid to do his assignment? There was no way he'd shell out money for it and Oliver doubted that Lex was overly popular. He was too dark for that. But he was willing to bet that in the years since they'd last seen each other, Lex had become even more manipulative and that he would use everything he had to make Oliver's life miserable.

He sighed and pulled out his textbook as the teacher walked into the room. The man collected the assignments and handed Oliver a stack of work to make up by the end of the week before beginning his lecture. He had a voice like a vacuum cleaner. Chloe was right. Mr. Shwartz was the most boring teacher on the planet.

And here he thought Smallville couldn't get any worse.

* * *

Chloe chewed her lip as she read the numerous headlines pertaining to Oliver Queen. Now she knew why she'd recognized his name. He was set to inherit the multibillion dollar corporation known as Queen Industries that had been run by his parents until they died in a tragic plane crash almost ten years previously, around the same time as the first meteor shower. She thought losing her mother had been hard. At least she still had her dad. According to the papers, Oliver had been left with absolutely no family, just a guardian appointed by his parents' lawyer. She couldn't begin to imagine what his life had been like. Based on the tabloid headlines, he was a bit of wild child, which didn't surprise Chloe in the least. Given the way he had to have been raised, she was honestly surprised that he wasn't worse. At least in Smallville he was as far from the paparazzi as he could get. She doubted all the headlines were true. He'd seemed like a pretty decent guy from the twenty minutes she'd spent with him. At little sad and closed off, but decent.

At least now she knew why he'd seemed tense when she'd asked why he'd come to Smallville. She really had put her foot in it with that one. She was beginning to wonder if all the exposure to the meteor rocks had given her the power to say the wrong thing at the wrong time without fail. Or maybe she was just born with it.

With a sigh, Chloe closed the page and shut down the computer. It had been a long day and for once, she was glad the final bell was going to ring in less than five minutes. Her classes hadn't gone well. She'd had a test or a quiz in everything. She hadn't gotten what she needed to write a decent article on the football team, so she'd had to find something else for the front page. Clark had been distracted by something meteor infected and hadn't turned in the article he promised to write so she'd done it during English. The paper didn't go out until the end of the week and her deadline wasn't for another two days. She wanted nothing more than to pick up her favorite coffee from the Talon and lose herself in her research.

A gust of wind suddenly blew through the room, knocking papers off of tables. Chloe looked up and saw Clark, clad in his perpetual jeans and plaid, standing in front of her.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Clark was the last person to ditch for any reason, but it was fun goading him.

He rolled his eyes. "We got out early and since I have practice after school, I thought I'd stop by to see if you found out why Dr. Hamilton was snooping around the field where my parents found me."

"I didn't have a chance to find anything," Chloe admitted, gathering up her belongings and shoving them in her bag as she did. "I had several Torch related disasters take precedence, including an article that didn't get submitted." She glared lightly at Clark as she spoke. He had the decency to grimace sheepishly and shuffle his feet slightly. "I'll see what I can find when I get home. Call me or stop by when you get out of practice and I'll let you know if I found anything."

Clark enveloped her in a quick hug. "You're the best Chlo."

"Don't I know it." She chuckled.

His answering laugh reverberated through his chest and he bent down and pecked her lightly on the cheek. A few months ago, that would have been enough to make Chloe swoon. But since, then she'd seen the light and now Clark was nothing more than her best friend.

"Hey!" Lois shouted, barging into the Torch. "Smallville, stop macking on my cousin! That's gross." Clark and Chloe immediately pulled apart. Lois ignored Clark's attempts to tell her that he was not making out with her cousin, and fixed her gaze on said cousin. "Come on cuz! I thought you had better taste than that!"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Lois, any girl that manages to catch Clark will be lucky. Just because he didn't fall for your charms, doesn't mean that he's worthless."

"Please!" Lois scoffed. "I never unleashed my charms on farmboy. If I had, he wouldn't have been able to resist me."

"I don't know, Lois," Clark said, shrugging innocently. "Last time I checked I was impervious to just about everything. I doubt your charm would be any different. That is, if you even have any."

Lois bristled. "Oh, I'll show you charm, Smallville. Just you wait!"

"I'm looking forward to it," Clark retorted.

Chloe glanced between them. Lois certainly had the unique ability to bring Clark out of his shell. He never verbally sparred with her like that. And she had never seen Lois let a guy get under her skin like that. They were definitely attracted to each other and just too damn stubborn to admit it.

At least it makes for interesting entertainment, Chloe thought to herself. I can't wait until they realize what's going on between them. The expressions on their faces will be priceless.

At the sight of Lois stepping forward menacingly, Chloe quickly inserted herself between her two friends. "What did you need, Lois?" she asked, hoping to steer the conversation onto more neutral ground.

"What?" Lois looked at her blankly for a moment.

Chloe laughed. "Lois, you avoid that Torch at all costs, remember? You had to be looking for me for a reason. What was it?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if you'd seen Smallville's latest hottie." Lois smirked. "Tall, blonde, bit of a jerk, but easy of the eyes. You two would look great together."

"Not again!" Chloe groaned, throwing her hands up. "How many times do I have to tell you that I don't need you to set me up with anyone? I'm perfectly happy. And what do you mean he was a jerk?" she demanded, glaring at her cousin. "He seemed perfectly nice this morning."

Lois gaped. "You met him? And you didn't coming running to give me all the juicy details."

"Oh, please!" Chloe scoffed. "There are no details. I was just supposed to show him around the school. It's not like he started hitting on my or anything."

"Well why weren't you hitting on him?" Lois demanded.

Clark caught Chloe's eye before slipping out the door. If she hadn't known that he had to get to practice, she'd have called him out on it. As it was, she couldn't really blame him for fleeing Lois.

Lois crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "Well? Why didn't you flirt?"

"Because he'd been here all of two seconds. He didn't need me drooling all over his shoes."

A triumphant grin crossed Lois' face. "So you admit it! You thought he was hot!"

Chloe groaned. There was no winning that argument with her cousin and she knew it. So she changed the topic. "I'm headed to the Talon. Care to join me?"

"Oh!" Lois squealed. "Caffeine buzz! Just what I needed. But you're buying, cuz."

Oliver slammed his locker shut and turned to leave the building only to find himself face to face with Lex Luthor. Carefully schooling his features to betray absolutely no emotion, he nodded in greeting.

"Lex. It's been a long time."

"Not long enough," Lex said coldly. "Imagine my surprise with Oliver Queen walked into Smallville High. I have to say, I never pictured seeing you here."

Oliver shrugged. "Can't say that I did either. But now I'm here, so I guess we both have to start picturing it."

"What are you doing here?" Lex demanded, dropping all pretense of civility.

"Going to school," Oliver answered. He wasn't about to the give the bald little creep the satisfaction of seeing him angry or frustrated. No, as far as Lex was concerned, their topic of conversation had absolutely no effect on him.

"Why here?" Lex snarled.

Oliver shrugged. "You'd have to ask my guardian. It was his decision."

A smirk crossed Lex's face. "That's right. I forgot that you were alone in the world. At least my father's still around."

"So you're glad he's around to not want you?" Oliver bit out, forcing himself to remain calm. "Somehow that logic doesn't make much sense to me."

Lex paled slightly and when he spoke, his tone shook slightly with suppressed anger. "I'd be careful if I were you Oliver. You don't own this school like you did Excelsior. Here, I have the power, and don't think that I won't use it."

"Was that a threat?" Oliver hissed, taking a step closer to Lex. He still towered over the other boy, despite the fact that it seemed Lex had gone through a growth spurt.

Lex didn't back down and no emotion showed in his face. "Just a friendly warning," he said softly. Turning, he walked away, pausing only once to toss over his shoulder, "See you in class."

Grumbling under his breath, Oliver turned to head in the opposite direction.

* * *

_Author's note: I'm purposefully keeping what brought Lex and Oliver to Smallville vague. I'm not assuming that everyone has seen the show and knows what the story is. So if you're a little confused, it's okay, you're kinda supposed to be. :P Also, I envisioned this whole first day of school scene with Oliver in a green shirt, hence the Jolly Green Giant comment from Lois. I couldn't help myself. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Title**: Twist of Fate

**Rating**: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

**Summary**: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

**Warning**: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

_Author's Note: If you want to see the banner for this fic, please check out my LJ. 552158 did an absolutely amazing job! And thank you again to all the people who commented. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy :)

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Chapter 3

Chloe sat in the Talon, examining the pictures from the football game. The freshman she'd convinced to be photographer had done a decent job. Normally, she would have just gotten Lois to do it, but her cousin had gone to Metropolis to spend the weekend with her dad while he was on leave.

The last picture was a crowd shot, obviously taken after a Smallville High touchdown. Everyone was standing. Except for two people right in the middle of the image. Chloe rolled her eyes at the sight of Oliver, making out with a red-headed senior she knew to be on the gymnastics team. In the two weeks since she'd met him, Oliver had done an excellent job of proving the tabloids right. Every time she saw him, he was wrapped up in a girl. Sometimes the same one, sometimes not. She'd really wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.

She was reaching for her coffee when a voice sounded from behind her.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were stalking me."

Startled, Chloe almost knocked over her mug and managed to spill half of it in the process. When she was sure it was steady, she turned to glare at the owner of the voice.

"Don't you know that it's dangerous to sneak up on someone with hot liquid in their hands?" she snapped.

Before he could answer, she turned her back on him and grabbed a napkin to mop up the coffee that had sloshed across the table before it ruined the pictures. She almost whimpered at the sight of the wasted coffee.

Oliver stared at the back of her head. That was not the reaction he'd been expecting. It wasn't as though he'd been attempting to startle her. What the hell had he done to make her dislike him so much?

Seeing what she was doing, he grabbed a couple of napkins and helped blot up the quickly cooling brown liquid. She made a move to swat his hands out of the way, but he dodged her easily enough. He gathered up a few papers that were dangerously close to the spilt coffee and set them on one of the empty chairs that surrounded the table. It was only then that he noticed how pale her skin was and the bags

under her eyes.

"Are you all right?" he asked abruptly, trying to inconspicuously get a look at her face.

Chloe gathered up the wet napkins. "Fine," she mumbled as she stood to walk to the nearest trashcan.

Before she could move a step, Oliver was blocking her path. She glowered at him. He ignored her and took the napkins from her hands, balling them up tightly, and expertly tossing them into trash.

"You don't look fine," he said, gazing at her. She looked half dead, but he wasn't about to say that out loud. No reason to make her dislike him even more than she already did.

"I'm a little tired," she admitted, "but I'm fine." Nothing like have to track down the maniac who stole your best friend's spaceship and is keeping your other best friend hostage until he reveals who the ship belongs to. That's just the makings of a good night's sleep.

Oliver raised an eyebrow, obviously disbelieving. "You look exhausted."

"Nothing a little coffee can't fix," Chloe said with as much energy as she could muster. She caught the eye of one of the baristas and gestured toward her empty cup. The girl nodded and Chloe turned back to Oliver. "Sorry I snapped," she went on briskly. "You just startled me."

She immediately sat back down, picked up a rough draft of her article and a red pen, and went to work. Oliver knew that she was nonverbally telling him to go away, but he wasn't about to give up so easily. Had it been anyone else he probably would have taken the hint and walked away. But, for the past two weeks he'd been playing the part of the playboy, mostly to prove to Lex that he didn't have as much power at Smallville High as he thought, but also to get his mind off of Chloe Sullivan. He hadn't stopped thinking about her since that day. He had the strangest feeling that somehow she'd seen past his defenses for just a second. The thought that he might have somehow offended her bothered him more than he liked to admit.

What is it with this girl? he asked himself.

Keeping his eyes fixed on her, Oliver lowered himself into the chair beside her. Her hand tensed ever so slightly on the pen she was holding, but she didn't look up or speak at all. Oliver smirked to himself.

So she's not so oblivious as she pretends to be, he thought. Well two can play that game.

When the barista came over with Chloe's refill, Oliver ordered a coffee for himself. Once the girl left, after casting a suspicious glance toward him, he turned his gaze back to Chloe, looking away only briefly to thank the barista when she returned with his order a few minutes later.

They sat like that for almost ten minutes. Occasionally, Chloe would reach out for her coffee and take a quick sip before turning back to her papers. She always carefully made sure to avoid eye contact with him. Oliver could see the tension in her shoulders. More than once she marked the paper so hard that he was surprised she didn't poke a hole in it. Her forehead was creased in concentration that was partly the result of how hard she was trying to ignore him.

Then, to his surprise, the tension began to melt away. Her shoulders relaxed and the furrow that had appeared across her forehead slowly disappeared. At first he thought that she was warming up to him. But when she shifted in her chair so that she was no longer facing him and frowned at the paper in her hands, Oliver realized that she had managed to completely forget his presence.

That's a first, he thought.

He leaned forward and broke the silence. "Have I done something to offend you?"

At the sound of his voice. Chloe started. Her pen jolted across the paper, leaving a long red mark across the black words. Oliver suppressed a sigh. This was going to be harder than he thought.

"What?" she asked, sounding slightly dazed.

Oliver leaned forward. "Have I done something to offend you?" he repeated.

Heat flooded to her cheeks. Dropping her papers back to the table, Chloe turned to face him. She chewed her lip nervously for a moment before answering. How was she supposed to explain what had kept her up the past few days? It wasn't like she could tell him that Stephen Hamilton had discovered the key to Clark's space ship. It wasn't like she could tell him that he'd managed to trace it to the Ross's after Clark had moved it to their shed for safe keeping. It wasn't like she could tell him that Pete had been taken when Hamilton tried to steal the ship. And she definitely couldn't tell him that she'd been up for forty-eight hours because she'd spent the night trying to figure out where Hamilton might have been keeping Pete and then freaking out until Clark returned with their friend and his ship in tow. No, she couldn't tell him any of that. So she settled for what she could tell him.

"I've been stressed out the last few days," she said carefully. "I'm just tired and this issue of the Torch is giving me some trouble. I really didn't mean to snap."

For a long moment, Oliver just looked at her. He could tell she was dancing around the finer details of what had her stressed out and he didn't blame her. They didn't know each other well enough for her to confide in him. But he was still slightly surprised that she hadn't understood his meaning.

Cocking his head slightly, he said, "That's not what I meant."

Chloe frowned. Confusion was plain on her face. "Then what did you mean?"

"The day we met," Oliver said slowly, "I got the impression that I insulted you somehow. You practically ran away from me once the bell rang."

It took her a moment to realize what he was talking about. When she did, her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my god," Chloe gasped sheepishly. "Oh my...no. God no. You didn't offend me at all." Her cheeks burned red in embarrassment. For once she was at a loss for words. Here she'd thought that she'd offended him and he was worrying that he'd offended her.

It was Oliver's turn to be confused. "Then what happened?"

"Well," Chloe said, biting her lip again. "You got all quiet after I asked why you moved here and you kinda seemed to zone out. I thought it was a sore subject and that you resented the fact that I brought it up. I know I have a tendency to stick my nose where it doesn't belong, and I figured that was exactly what happened. So instead of hanging around and making things worse, I left."

She trailed off lamely, feeling like a complete idiot. Finding her way into embarrassing situations was definitely her superpower. Matters weren't helped much by the fact that Oliver was staring at her, mouth hanging open slightly.

"So let me get this straight," he said, shifting in his chair so that he was sitting upright. "We both spent the past two weeks thinking we insulted each other when we didn't?"

Chloe nodded. "Yeah."

Silence stretched between them for a moment. Chloe eyed Oliver cautiously, unsure of what exactly was going to happen given their revelations. She half expected him to get up and leave now that he knew his reputation as a charmer hadn't taken a hit.

After all, she thought miserably, what would he want with a nosy reporter?

Her crush on Clark may have been a thing of the past, but that didn't change the fact that her love life was absolutely nonexistent. Guys saw her as a friend if they saw her at all. And guys like Oliver, the cute, popular ones, tended to ignore her. She'd been in high school for three years and every chose either leggy, loud-mouthed Lois, or ethereal Lana. It was simply the way of the world and she'd come to, grudgingly, accept it.

Oliver, completely oblivious to the internal battle she was waging with herself, smiled broadly. "I guess that means we can start over and actually be friends."

Chloe's mouth almost literally fell open. As it was, she managed to convey her astonishment by merely raising her eyebrows and leaning back in her chair. She floundered for words for a moment-how did he do that, by the way-before simply saying, "Really?"

"Why not?" Oliver asked, his grin become wider.

"No offense, but I don't seem like your type."

She regretted the words the moment they came out of her mouth. His smile slipped slightly and a guarded look appeared in his eyes.

"You've been reading the tabloids," he said flatly.

"No I have no...well, yes actually I have, but that's not the point." She crossed her arms indignantly. She was a real reporter, not some gossip mongering wannabe. "I didn't believe those rags anyway. Besides, it doesn't take a genius to notice all the girls you've been with since you got here and this," she shoved the picture she'd been looking at when he first arrived toward him, "is proof enough of that, don't you think?"

Oliver stared at the image. She must not have been the one to take the picture otherwise she'd have known that his date had planted one on him without warning and the second after the flash he'd been disentangling himself. He couldn't explain it, but the thought that Chloe would think so little of him, would dig into his life like that, was painful.

When he made no attempt to answer, she went on. "For the record, the only reason I looked you up in the first place was because I recognized your name, but I couldn't remember why. I wasn't trying to find dirt on you or anything."

That last sentence jolted Oliver out of his reverie and suddenly everything she'd said hit home. He sighed and pushed the picture away. Looking up, he caught her eye. "Now I've really have offended you, haven't I?" he asked softly. She opened her mouth to say something, but her overrode her. He needed to get this out. "Unfortunately, having people digging into my life and making assumptions is part of being me. I don't like it, but I live with it. I hate it when what the tabloids say influences the way people see me."

"And I played into the stereotype," Chloe realized. "Well that's not what I meant to do, if it helps."

"It does," Oliver said, smiling a little, before quickly changing the subject in an attempt to ease the tension. "So what exactly are you working on here? It looks like you have enough information for a research paper."

She laughed, appreciating the change of direction. "Practically. I'm writing an article about how this year's football team measures up to the teams of the past. I have stats on some of Smallville's glory years and stats on some of the years that should definitely be forgotten."

"And how's this year shaping up so far?" he asked.

"Not bad. Based on what I can figure, it's really too early to tell. But since the team's finally gotten settled, we've been doing pretty well, so there's still a chance this year won't be embarrassing," she finished with a cheeky grin.

Oliver nodded. "You know, you don't strike me as the sports type."

"I'm not," she assured him. "But my best friend is on the team and in a small town like this, football is practically sacred. If I don't write about it, I get f-"

"CUZ!"

Chloe winced and dropped her forehead to her hand. "Can I just apologize in advance?" she asked weakly.

"For what?" Oliver asked in confusion.

She pointed at Lois, who was bustling across the crowded cafe. "For her."

Lois glared at Oliver as she approached. Her hands settled on her hips and he had the feeling that lesser men would have quailed under gaze. "Well if it isn't the jolly green giant,"

she snapped. "Still stepping on the little people?"

"Lois!" Chloe hissed.

"You do realize that you ran into me, right?" Oliver pointed out.

"That is so not true!" Lois scoffed.

Chloe glared at her cousin. "Be nice, Lois. I'm sure that whatever happened, it was an accident. There's no reason for name calling."

Lois snorted. "Whatever, cuz. You're dad's cooking chile tonight."

Chloe blanched. "Pizza or dinner at the Kent's?"

"Pizza, definitely." Lois frowned. "I'm not going anywhere near Smallville until he comes crawling back admitting how charming I am. I need five bucks so we can split the pizza."

Sighing tiredly, Chloe dug the appropriate bills out of her pocket and handed them to her cousin. Lois beamed. "Thanks cuz! See ya at dinner."

And just like that she was gone.

Chloe slumped back in her chair, rubbing her hands over her face. "Well, at least you survived hurricane Lois relatively intact. Believe me when I say a horrible nickname is the least of your worries where she concerned. I don't know what happened the other day, but knowing Lois, you may want to watch your back."

"That was your cousin?" Oliver asked, raising an eyebrow.

She nodded in embarrassment. "Unfortunately she was absent the day they passed out tact in pre-school and she got a lot more of the Lane genes than I did. The General taught her that whole "take no prisoners" thing way to well."

He laughed. "I can tell. She certainly is abrasive."

"That's putting it lightly," Chloe said ruefully. "Let me know if she's bothering you and I'll try to tell her to back off. I'm not saying it'll work, but I may be able to talk her out of her crazier schemes."

Oliver was just about to ask what kind of schemes Lois could come up with, when his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and read the angry text message from his guardian. What had he done this time?"

Standing, he smiled contritely. "I have to go. Do you think we could hang out some time?"

Taken by surprise, Chloe nodded. "Sure." She grabbed a piece of paper and scrawled down her number. "Call me whenever. Or stop by the Torch."

"Thanks." Oliver pocketed the number and smiled before leaving the shop.

Chloe watched him until he was out of sight.

There goes one guy I definitely do not understand. I really hope Lois didn't offend him too much.

She stayed at the Talon for another hour or so, before gathering up her papers. Getting one last coffee to go, she headed out the door. She had just gotten home when she felt her phone vibrate. The number listed on the screen was unfamiliar. Frowning, she flipped open the phone and read the message.

Looking forward to seeing you soon.

O

Chloe was grinning when she walked into the room she shared with Lois. Her cousin looked at her closely, a sly smirk spreading across her features.

"What's his name?" Lois demanded.

"What?"

"The guy's that's got you all googlely-eyed!"

Chloe grimaced. "I don't know what you're talking about."

The doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of the pizza. Lois rose to get it, smiling knowingly. "Sure you don't, cuz. Sure you don't."

* * *

_Author's Note: So in case you can't tell, canon's gone to hell the hard way, or maybe's the my way. Well whichever. Just to be clear. Chloe is a Junior. Anything from the show is fair game. I'll use it as I see fit depending on what I'm saying, regardless of where it's supposed to be in the timeline. Coming up in the next chapter: Oliver is introduced to the world of the meteor infected_.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title**: Twist of Fate

**Rating**: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

**Summary**: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

**Warning**: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

_Author's Note: This chapter is really long. It kinda mutated on me. Thanks to all who have reviewed. It's really inspiring.

* * *

_

Chapter 4

Oliver stood awkwardly in the middle of the Torch. He'd been looking for Chloe. They hadn't spoken since meeting at the Talon four days before, except for that one text. He'd tried calling three times, but it went straight to voicemail. Normally, he would have thought that he was getting the brush off. But considering she'd given him her number and not the other way around, that was unlikely. Plus, she just didn't seem to be the type of person to brush someone off like.

He wandered over to a bulletin board that occupied one wall. It was covered in newspaper clippings, articles, and pictures, including one of a man with three fingers on one hand and five on the other. Just by glancing at everything, it seemed the Chloe had linked everything to a meteor shower that had hit the town years ago.

"I see you found my Wall of Weird," she said from behind him.

Grinning sheepishly, he turned to face her. She was bent over the computer, her back to him, typing out an e-mail. "Sorry. I was looking for you and it piqued my interest. I tried calling but I didn't get an answer, so I thought I'd stop by."

"No worries. I just hope you don't run screaming in the other direction now that you know how crazy I am."

He turned back to the bulletin board. "I'll admit, it does seem a little out there."

"Well, maybe it is," she admitted, coming to stand beside him. "But if you ask me, things have been weird in Smallville ever since the meteor shower. I'm kind of obsessed with the theory. Almost every edition of the Torch has some kind of editorial about my suspicions. Which is half the reason I have to be sure to print sports stuff. Otherwise, I'd probably be expelled."

"I wonder why?" Oliver chuckled.

She elbowed him lightly in the ribs. "So why were you looking for me, anyway?"

"Well you weren't answering your phone, so I thought...I'd...what happened?"

For the first time since she'd entered the room, Oliver got a good look at her face. The left side of her forehead was bruised, as were her temple and cheek. The discoloring on her cheek was mostly hidden by makeup and she'd swept her bangs across her forehead in an attempt to hide the livid bruise.

"I fell," she said unconvincingly.

Oliver crossed his arms and glared at her. "Chloe, I've gotten into enough fights to know that someone hit you on the head with something. There is no way you could have gotten that kind of bruise by falling down. What happened?"

"It's..." she hesitated, searching for the right word before finally coming up with, "complicated."

"There's nothing complicated about it," Oliver said testily. "Someone did a number on you. The next time that happens, you could be seriously hurt. Now are you going to tell me what happened?"

Sighing, she collapsed in a nearby chair. "I can't. And it's not for the reasons you think," she added, glaring at him. "I'm not being abused or anything. I just accidentally found myself on the wrong end of a crazy person a couple of days ago. He was an old friend who was in an accident. It left him mentally incapacitated. Because I was the only one to e-mail him while he was in recovery, he kinda had a thing for me."

"A thing for you?" he deadpanned.

Heat rose to her cheeks. "Yes. A thing. Anyway, when I told him I wasn't interested, he kinda went berserk. He may have hit me with a horseshoe. But Clark grabbed him and he's in a mental facility now, so everything's fine," she finished with forced cheerfulness.

Oliver ran a hand over his face and collapsed in a chair opposite Chloe. "And the fact that he could have seriously harmed you doesn't bother you at all?"

"Not really," Chloe shrugged. "I mean, being an investigative reporter is my life's ambition and it's not exactly the safest of professions. I can't tell you how many times I've almost been caught snooping around Luthorcorp. But I'm still here, and I'm in one piece, and that is good enough for me."

"Luthorcorp!" he choked out. "You've been snooping around Luthorcorp!"

Her gaze became defiant. "Lionel Luthor is no saint and I have evidence that he's engaged in some very questionable business practices. One of these days, I'll expose him."

"You do realize that you're playing with fire, right?" he asked weakly. It was becoming abundantly clear the longer he spent time around Chloe Sullivan that she was like no girl he'd ever met. He already knew that she had the uncanny ability to see through his act. But now he knew that she was selfless, determined, and could care less about her own well being. The problem was he knew just how dangerous the Luthors were. He admired what she was doing, trying to unmask Lionel for the sadistic monster he was. But after what he had seen Lex do at Excelsior he knew that he and his father were capable of anything. Part of him was proud to know that he'd met someone who was willing to stand up to people like the Luthors, but he was also worried that it was going to get her into trouble and the thought she might get hurt caused his chest to tighten slightly.

Chloe's eyes narrowed. "You're not going to warn me about getting burned, are you?"

Oliver shook his head. "No. I wouldn't presume to tell you what to do. Just please be careful. I'm sure you get people telling you that all the time, but so far you're my only friend here and it would really suck if you got thrown in jail or died or something."

The very real sadness in his voice surprised Chloe. She met his eyes and saw the briefest flash of vulnerability. It suddenly occurred to her that he'd grown up without any family and the playboy lifestyle he'd cultivated was just a front to hide that loneliness.

She sighed in mock exasperation. "Because you asked so nicely, I'll try to avoid life threatening situations for at least the next week, but no guarantees."

If only he knew how insignificant that promise was. Being best friends with Clark was dangerous. She found herself up against meteor freaks or people who wanted to use the meteor infected for their own ends. Even before she knew Clark's secret, her insatiable curiosity had nearly gotten her killed on more than one occasion. There had been that time the deranged police officer with a hero complex had kidnapped and buried her alive just so that he could rescue her. And the time the football coach had tried to incinerate her because she'd figured out that he was scaring his players into cheating so that he could win some stupid game. Trouble just followed her around.

The tone of her voice was enough to tell Oliver that she was making an empty promise. But the look in her eyes spoke louder. There was something she was keeping back, something important. Somehow he knew that she didn't go looking for trouble, that it just found her. Having had his fair share of injuries, Oliver knew what kind of strength it took to shake off an injury like that. It was definitely official. She was like no one he had ever met.

"That's the best you're gonna give me, isn't it?" Oliver asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between them.

"Unfortunately," Chloe said ruefully. "So why were you looking for me?"

He grinned. "Well I was coming to ask why you were ignoring me, but now that I know that you weren't, I was wondering if you'd heard about the bonfire tonight."

"Sorry about that. My phone got lost in the chaos the other day. I should have a new one by the end of the week. And yes," she said, arching an eyebrow. "I've heard about the bonfire. Half the school's going. Why?"

"Well, like I said, you're practically the only person I know and you're definitely my only friend, so I was wondering if you'd go with me. Not as a date or anything" he added quickly, rubbing his neck in embarrassment. "Just as friends. Nothing's worse than standing in the corner by yourself."

Chloe's soft laugh stopped his rambling. "Yes, I'll go with you."

"Awesome! So I'll pick you up at eight?"

She laughed again. "Isn't that kind of a date thing?"

"No, it's a friend thing," he said slowly, as though speaking to a child. "That way you don't have to drive, and since I don't really know where I'm going, you can boss me around and give me directions."

Still chuckling, Chloe grabbed a piece of paper off her desk and wrote down her address and directions from the school. "This is my home number," she said, pointing at numbers on the bottom of the page. "Call when you get there and I'll come out, otherwise you'll be facing the Inquisition, Lois-style. And believe me, you don't want to experience that."

"Thanks for the warning," he said, taking the paper. He tore off the bottom half and wrote down his number, handing it to her. "This way you can call me if something happens."

"Will do." She glanced at the clock. "I actually have to go. I was just supposed to be grabbing my bag. My dad's waiting. So I'll see you tonight."

"See you then."

Chloe gave him one last smile before leaving the room.

Oliver followed her out, locking the door behind him and found himself face to face with Lex.

"Look at you," Lex sneered. "Going into the lion's den. I didn't think you had it in you. What'd she have to do to get you in there?"

Growling, Oliver rounded on Lex, a fierce protective urge surging over him out of nowhere. "Chloe is ten times the human you'll ever be Lex. I'm lucky that she's willing to be around me. You'll never know what that feels like. You sank into darkness a long time ago."

"I'm not the only one," Lex hissed. "What do you think she'll say when she finds out what you've done? You embraced that darkness right alongside me and you know it. It was in you longer than it was ever in me. You can keep stringing her along, pretending that you're some kind of saint, but we both know you'll never be more than the heartless playboy who uses people and throws them away."

A cold smile pulled at Lex's lips at the sight of Oliver's tense jaw. "See you at the bonfire."

* * *

"What are you getting all dressed up for?" Lois demanded.

Chloe shot a glare at her cousin. It was marred slightly by the fact that she was pulling a shirt over her head. "I'm going to the bonfire. And this isn't dressed up. This is just dressed. I wear this to school every day."

"Chloe, Chloe, Chloe," Lois sighed, shaking her head. "You're changing clothes at a quarter to eight. You're dressing up. And badly. I have just the thing."

"Lois, I am not wearing your clothes," Chloe said firmly. "It's not happening."

"Trust me cuz, you won't regret it." Lois tossed a emerald green wrap top across the room as she spoke. "You've spent way too much time pining over Smallville. It's time to move on and a little harmless flirting is just the ticket. If you end up getting some, well that's just a bonus."

"There is no way in hell that I'm getting laid tonight, so get that thought out of your head," Chloe snapped. "I'll wear your damn shirt, but that's it."

"If you say so, Chlo," Lois smirked.

Chloe was spared answering by the sound of the telephone. She snatched the cordless handset off the bed before Lois could.

"Hello?"

"Chloe? it's Oliver."

"Hey!

"Are you ready."

"Yep."

"Is everything okay?"

"Of course."

She could practically hear the smile in his voice as he answered. "Lois is in the room, isn't she?"

"Who's on the phone?" Lois shouted.

Chloe massaged her forehead. "How could you tell?"

"I have a sixth sense for these things," he laughed. "I'm parked across the street."

"All right. I'll meet you there soon."

"See you in a minute, Chloe."

She rolled her eyes. "Bye."

The moment she pressed the "End" button, Lois advanced on her. "You're meeting someone, aren't you?"

Dodging her cousin, Chloe grabbed her jacket off the back of the chair. "Yeah, Clark and Pete. We're totally gonna have a threesome in the Kent's barn after the bonfire."

"Way to go cuz!"

"Goodnight, Lois."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't-"

Chloe shut the front door on the rest of her cousin's sentence. The temperature had dropped since school had ended and she was glad of the jacket. It was easy to spot Oliver's car. The black SUV was the only vehicle parked in the street. He caught sight of her as she crossed the street and grinned. She hurried over and hopped in.

"Sorry about all that," she said, gesturing toward the house. "Lois doesn't believe it's possible for people of the opposite sex to just be friends. If she finds out about this, I'll be suffering through her not-so-subtle sexual innuendos about us for the rest of my life."

"Lois does seem the type," Oliver chuckled. "So where am I going?"

Chloe gave him the directions, then leaned back against the seat, examining him out of the corner of her eye. She'd have to be blind not to notice that he was incredibly hot. But now it was almost painfully obvious. He'd traded in the t-shirt and washed out jeans he'd been wearing to school for a pair of dark jeans, a navy blue, button down shirt and a leather jacket. She wouldn't be surprised if the moment they got to the bonfire they were swamped by girls wanting to talk to him. The small, but vocal, part of her that was incredibly insecure, whispered that she'd end up by herself while he made out with someone. She quickly silenced the voice and resumed her sly examination. The only thing wrong with him was that he looked slightly uneasy.

"Everything okay?" she asked, breaking the silence.

Oliver glance over at her and smiled. "Yeah. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Just checking," she shrugged. "You're pretty quiet."

"I'm just trying to make sure we don't get lost. I am pretty new to town," he reminded her.

"Then I'll let you concentrate."

Great, Oliver groaned to himself. We've been gone all of five minutes and I'm already lying to her.

The truth was, he couldn't get what Lex had said out of his head. Oliver knew in his gut that what he said was true. If Chloe was willing to risk her life to out the Luthors, then there was no doubt she was a good person. He'd seen that in the way she'd read him the first day, in the way she'd tried to defend him from her own family, in the way she'd tried to reassure him of her safety when it was clear she was regularly in danger. She may not know it, but after seeing her Wall of Weird, he'd found as many back issues of the Torch online as he could and read every one of her articles. If she wasn't writing about the meteor infected and the weird goings on in Smallville, she was championing some cause or another. But most convincing was the gut feeling he had the Chloe Sullivan was just good to the core. He was almost positive that when she found out what he'd done, she'd smack him across the face and tell him to leave her the hell alone.

Lex is going to tell her, he realized. That's what he meant. Well, he won't get the chance. Even if it means she'll never speak to me again, I'll tell her myself. He sighed softly and shook his head. How the hell did this happen? I barely know her and I'm worried about what she thinks of me.

"Turn here," Chloe instructed, interrupting his thoughts. Just in time, he saw the narrow dirt drive. If it hadn't been for her timely interjection, he definitely would have missed it.

A few minutes later, they were at the bonfire. At least two dozen cars were already parked in the neighboring field. Oliver parked and climbed out, hurrying over to the passenger side to offer Chloe a hand. For the first time he noticed what she was wearing.

He'd noticed from the beginning that she was attractive, but now he wanted to upgrade that to downright sexy. Her curves were all natural and perfectly accented by her emerald top. The dark green contrasted nicely with her pale skin and made her eyes, also a deep, almost mesmerizing green, sparkle.

Mentally slapping himself, Oliver offered her his arm. "Shall we?"

With a giggle she accepted and allowed him to pull her toward the crackling blaze. "You know it's not too late to ditch," she whispered. "Smallville parties are really boring. At least that's what Lois says. She actually went to parties in Metropolis before the General sent her here, so she would probably know."

"I think I'll manage," Oliver murmured in reply.

"If you say so," she shrugged. "Do you want to find someplace to sit or go mingle-"

"Oliver!"

Chloe sighed resignedly as Veronica Morgan, a senior and a cheerleader, waved excitedly and hurried toward them. Conscious of the fact that Oliver still held her arm and that she was standing extremely close to him because of that, Chloe attempted to free herself and put some distance between them. But Oliver snaked his arm around her waist, trapping her against his side.

"What are you doing?" Chloe hissed at him.

He didn't answer. Veronica stopped in front of them. She was beaming at Oliver and completely ignoring Chloe.

"Hey Ollie," Veronica said, her voice low. "I haven't seen you in forever. What do you say we sneak off and find someplace a little more private. Away from prying eyes and all."

"You know normally I'd love to, but," his arm tightened around Chloe's waist as he spoke and he pulled her forward so that she was slightly more visible. "I'm here with someone."

Barely sparing Chloe a glance, Veronica moved closer to Oliver and whispered in his ear. "Come on. You know the only reason you brought her was out of pity. The poor thing couldn't get a date if he was hogtied and forced to. Besides, there's no way she can give you the fun I can. So ditch her and come with me. I'll make it worth your while."

Chloe, hearing every word, stiffened. She knew it was too good to be true. Pulling away from Oliver, she hurried across the clearing toward the other side of the bonfire.

"Oh, look at that," Veronica purred. "All alone with me."

Her hands found their way to Oliver's sides. He grabbed her wrists gently, but firmly and pushed her away. "Not gonna happen," he hissed. "Now if you'll excuse me, there's someone I need to go find."

Oliver wove his way through the crowd to the opposite side of the bonfire. Only a handful of people were scattered around that area, mostly talking quietly amongst themselves. Chloe was sitting on a log in front of the blazing fire. The flickering light gave her face an almost haunted look. She didn't notice Oliver's approach. In fact, she seemed oblivious to everything around her. He stopped at the end of the log and cleared his throat. She tensed just slightly, but turned to look at him.

He gestured at the log. "Mind if I join you?"

"It's a free country," she managed with a lopsided grin. This was the part where he asked if she could get another ride home. She quickly schooled her features so that they wouldn't betray the emotion she was feeling. She barely knew the guy and already it felt like it had when Clark used to ditch her for Lana or one of his alien emergencies before she knew his secret.

Oliver gazed at her intently, trying to read her. But he was coming up blank. He scooted a little closer, turning his body so that he was more or less facing her. "Why'd you run off?" he asked softly.

Pain flickered across her features for the briefest moment before she covered it with a smile. "Figured you wouldn't want me cramping your style. You can go if you want to. I borrowed my Dad's phone just in case. Clark or Pete can come pick me up."

He gaped at her. She thought he was going to leave her and go off with some girl who just wanted to get in his pants. He would have been offended if he hadn't caught the resignation in her eyes. She was used to coming second.

Oliver moved to kneel in front of her and placed her hands on her shoulders, trying to get her to look at him. "I asked you to come tonight because I wanted to hang out with someone who could care less about my reputation," he said softly. "I want to get to know you better and vice versa. Now, I don't know what's happened in the past to make you think that someone could just up and leave you on your own like that, but I'm not going to do it. Got it?"

Nodding, Chloe smiled sheepishly. "Got it. Have I mentioned that I have an insecure streak a mile wide and that I tend to jump to conclusions?"

"No," he chuckled. "You didn't. I wouldn't have pegged you for being insecure though."

Only when it comes to relationships, she thought ruefully, but she didn't say anything. Instead she just smiled conspiratorially and said, "We all have our secrets, don't we?"

"If only you knew," Oliver replied solemnly.

Chloe frowned and shifted closer, laying a hand his arm. "I know we don't know each other very well, but I've been told I'm a very good listener. If you ever want to talk about whatever's bothering you, you can always talk to me."

"How do you do that?" Oliver asked, shaking his head.

"Do what?"

"Read me like that?" He shook head head and moved to sit on the log again. "No one ever has. Ask anyone who's met me. They'd say that I'm a carefree playboy, a little bit of jerk and self-centered. But it's all an act and it didn't fool you."

Chloe blushed. "I've never told anyone this, but I used to have a major crush on my best friend. But he was too busy falling all over someone else. I got really good at pretending everything was all right. No one ever had a clue how much I was hurting. I guess, because I was hiding for so long, that I got pretty good at recognizing the signs in someone else. Hiding like that, being two different people, it isn't fun."

"Definitely not," Oliver agreed. "There was actually something I was hoping to talk to you about. But I wasn't sure how to bring it up, because it's not exactly the kind of thing you'd usually talk about at a bonfire."

"Who cares? You can tell me." Her hand found his and she gripped it gently.

He sighed shakily. "What I'm going to tell you is something I haven't told anyone. But, I think we have a chance to be friends and I don't want you to find this out from someone else."

His words faltered.

Chloe squeezed his hand more tightly. "Whatever it is, it can't be that bad. Just tell me."

"It's bad," Oliver murmured. For a long moment he didn't speak and when he did, it was to their joined hands. "When my parents' died, it left this void inside me. I didn't have anyone. My guardian barely saw me. I spent most of my time either at boarding school or at the mansion with a nanny. By the time they put me in Excelsior, I was a bitter jerk and I took it out on Lex."

"Lex?" Chloe repeated softly. "What does he have to do with this?"

"My friends and I, we were bullies," Oliver admitted quietly, his voice filled with pain and remorse. "Lex and his friend Duncan were our favorite targets. We were horrible." He paused again and closed his eyes.

"They caught us stealing a test. Duncan wanted to turn us in, but Lex, even then, he wanted power. He tried to blackmail us into being his friend, but Duncan wouldn't go along with it it. Lex snapped. He beat Duncan to a bloody pulp before I managed to pull him off. Duncan was just trying to get away from us, but he stumbled into the street and got hit by the car. He died of traumatic brain injuries."

"But it wasn't your fault," Chloe whispered. She gently place her free hand on his shoulder. "You didn't kill him."

"I as good as did," Oliver said bitterly. "If I hadn't been such a jackass to them, Lex wouldn't have tried to buy our friendship and Duncan wouldn't have had to take the moral high ground. I may not have pushed him out in front of that car, but I'm part of reason he's dead.

"After that, I pushed everyone away. I didn't let anyone get close to me. I accepted the role of playboy, because that's all I'll ever be. I've been with more girls than I care to remember and I was an ass to all of them. I've barely been here a month and I'm already doing the same thing, mostly to rub in it Lex's face. And don't tell me that's going to come back to bite me in the ass, because I already know that. He's been wanting to get back at me for years, and I didn't want him to use you to do it."

Her forehead furrowed. "How would he do that? Lex and I barely speak. We despise each other."

"Chloe, you're the first person I've actually talked to in a long time. Lex has always been good at manipulating people and he'll do just that. That's why I had to tell you all of this," he admitted. "I think I was already planning to, at some point. But something he said to me made me realize that he was going to tell you. And believe me, if he'd told you, I'd come out looking even more like the devil."

Impulsively, Chloe wrapped her around around his chest. "I learned a long time ago not to listen to anything to Lex says. I'm really glad you trusted me enough to tell me. I know that couldn't have been easy."

"I'm surprised you took it so well," he said sheepishly, returning the hug.

"Oliver, you're hardly the first person to screw up or the first person to lash out because they were in pain." She tightened her grip on him.

"Thank you" he whispered. "For everything."

"That's what friends are for," she murmured in return, beginning to pull away.

Oliver bent and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She blushed. "What was that for?"

He shrugged. "Just for being you."

She arched an eyebrow. "Whatever you say Romeo. But just for the record, I am completely immune to your charms, so keep them to yourself."

"All right," he laughed. "Duly noted. What do you say we get out here and grab some pizza?"

Chloe never gave him an answer. She slumped forward, falling a heap beside the fire. At that moment, something collided with the back of his skull and everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

**Title**: Twist of Fate

**Rating**: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

**Summary**: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

**Warning**: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

_Author's Note: Consider this a last minute Valentine's Day present for all of you who were wondering what happens next :P

* * *

_

Chapter 5

Oliver woke to someone shaking him. He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut against the pain. His head felt like it was about to explode.

"Come on, Oliver," Chloe whispered. "Wake up!"

The memory of what happened flooded back to him. His eyes snapped open and he bolted upright. Chloe jumped back, startled by the sudden movement. They were in some sort of cellar. The only light came from a single, bare bulb in the center of the ceiling. A cot was pushed against one wall beside the solid iron door.

They were prisoners.

Oliver turned his gaze to Chloe and quickly glanced over her, looking for some visible sign of harm. "Are you all right?" he asked.

She nodded. "You?"

"Just a bump on the head," he said, getting to his feet. "Where are we?"

"I have no idea," Chloe sighed. "It might be the old creamed corn factory or any one of the numerous abandoned buildings in Smallville."

He went to the door and examined it, hoping to find some way out. "What are our chances of being found?"

Chloe bit her lip. "Well...that all depends on where exactly we are, but not as bad as you might think." As long as we're not in the middle of a field of meteor rock or in a lead building, Clark'll find us, eventually.

"Any ideas who's behind-ugh!"

Without warning, Oliver went flying across the room. He slammed into the wall and slid to the floor where he lay groaning. Chloe gasped and ran toward him, but something grabbed her around the middle and deposited her on the bed.

The door swung open and Justin Gaines walked in.

"Hello, Chloe," he said softly.

"Justin!" she gasped. "What are you doing here? I thought...I thought you were in-"

"Belle Reve?" he supplied. A manic gleam appeared in his eyes. "I was. Did you really think they could keep me there? They had no idea what I was really capable of. They weren't even giving me meds. I was completely lucid. All I had to do was wait until night and then sneak out."

"What do you want, Justin?" Chloe demanded. Her voice shook slightly.

He smiled and moved toward her. "I just want to be with you. You're all I can think about Chloe. We're meant to be together."

"Then why take Oliver too?"

Justin's face darkened. "He kissed you. You're mine and no one else's. He has to be punished for trying to take you away from me."

Chloe's eyes widened. At that moment, Oliver launched himself at Justin, tackling him to the floor. The rolled across the room until they hit the wall. Oliver grunted and lost his grip on Justin, who broke away.

Scrambling to his feet, Justing looked down on Oliver. He flicked his wrist and Oliver went flying toward the ceiling. His body slammed against the concrete with a sickening sound.

"Stop!" Chloe shouted. "You'll kill him!"

Justin glanced at her over his shoulder. "You're right. It's not time for that yet."

Sparing once last glance at Oliver, Justin left the room. As soon as the door closed, Oliver fell to the ground. Chloe ran over to him and gently turned him onto his back, placing his head in her lap. He winced at the movement.

"Are you all right?" she asked softly.

Oliver grimaced. "Peachy. What the hell just happened? Who was that?"

"That was Justin," she whispered.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that's the guy that had a thing for you."

Chloe sighed and ran her hand gently through his hair, trying to soothe him. The pain on his face lessened slightly. "Yeah. That's him. Oliver, I didn't tell you everything before. And I know I'm going to sound crazy, but I'm telling you the truth."

"Chloe, what's going on?" Oliver asked.

"About thirteen years ago, Smallville was hit by a meteor shower. Half the town was destroyed. One of my friends lost her parents." She drew in a shaky breath. "But that wasn't the worst part. Some of the meteor rocks were radioactive. Not many people believe this, but they have special properties and if a person is exposed to the radiation for too long or under the right circumstances the rocks can give that person special abilities."

When she paused, Oliver licked his lips and looked up at her. "Like what kind of special abilities?"

Chloe bit her lip and continued to run her fingers through his hair. "Like the ability to control fire. That was Coach Walt. Freshman year he nearly incinerated me and half the football team just so that he could win some stupid game. Then there was the kid who almost literally became a bug because he was bitten by a bunch of meteor infected insects.

"Justin's one of them," she added softly. "He's telekinetic. The trauma of losing his hands in the accident gave him powers."

"So he threw me across the room with his mind?" Oliver frowned.

"I know it sounds crazy, but yeah."

"Chloe," he said softly, taking her hand and holding it gently. "I believe you. There's no way he could have pinned me to ceiling without some kind of help and I didn't see any wires. You know, that Wall of Weird makes a lot more sense now."

She laughed weakly. "I started that way before I knew just how crazy this place is. At least now I know what exactly is going on."

Oliver arched an eyebrow. "Why do I get the feeling that you end up in the middle more often than not?"

"Because I do," she admitted sheepishly. "I seem to attract them."

He laughed, then winced when the action caused his ribs to ache.

"Are you hurt badly?" Chloe asked, eyeing him concernedly.

"I've had worse." He squeezed her hand. "Don't worry."

"How can I not worry?" she asked bitterly. "It's my fault you're hurt. If I hadn't-"

"If you hadn't what?" Oliver demanded. "If you hadn't e-mailed him while he was in the hospital? If you hadn't turned him down? If you hadn't agreed to hang out with me? If you hadn't comforted me and given me a hug? Chloe, you were just being a good person when you wrote to him. And he can't fault you for turning him down when you didn't feel anything for him. He should be grateful that you didn't lead him on. And for the record, I don't care what happens, I'm glad that you're my friend. You're the first person I've ever told any of that to and I will never regret that."

"Even if a psychotic telekinetic kills you because he's jealous?" she asked weakly.

"Even then," he whispered, grimacing slightly.

Chloe frowned. "What hurts?"

"Would you relax?" Oliver chided. "I've felt worse after getting into fights at school."

She narrowed her eyes. "I don't believe you. In fact, I'm pretty sure you're trying be all macho about it, but all right. Look." her voice softened as she went on. "The next time Justin shows up, I want you to leave him to me. I might be able to talk him into taking me and letting you go."

He stared at her. "Have you lost your mind? I'm not leaving you here!"

"Yes you are," Chloe said firmly. "In fact, you're going to get out of here, figure out where we are, and get Clark."

"Clark?" Oliver repeated incredulously. "Does Clark have meteor powers too?"

"Sort of. He's the only one who can stop Justin."

Grunting in pain, Oliver struggled upright so that the two of them were looking in each other's eyes. "Chloe, I don't care if he can signal handedly bring about world peace, I'm not leaving you here with a psycho."

"If I don't try to talk him out of it, he'll kill you," she whispered.

Oliver took her face in his hands. "Listen to me. We are going to get out of this together."

The conviction in his brown eyes was overwhelming. Slowly, Chloe nodded, forcing back tears as she did. Oliver wiped them away gently. She took his hand again. "You should lie down. Let's you get you over to the bed."

He didn't protest as she pulled his arm over her shoulders and slid hers around his waist, pulling him to his feet. His ribs and back protested at the movement and he couldn't keep back a gasp of pain. Chloe winced in sympathy. Slowly, they made their way over to the cot. It didn't look very comfortable, but it had to be better than the floor. Once she had helped him lie back, Oliver pulled Chloe down beside him so that she was sitting, leaning against his chest.

"I don't want to hurt you," she whispered.

"You're not," he assured her. "I don't care how this sounds, but I've been alone for a really long time and right now, I really don't want to be."

Chloe's face softened and she smiled weakly. "You must really be desperate if you're willing to spend time with a snarky, nosy reporter who tends to attack the attention of homicidal freaks."

"Well you must be equally desperate to be around a arrogant playboy with a chip on his shoulder and a history of being a jackass," he pointed out.

"You make a good point."

"Or maybe," Oliver said softly, reaching up to run a hand through her hair, "I'm lucky that I found someone to hang out with that sees the real me."

Leaning into his touch, Chloe gazed down at him. "I just might know the feeling."

Oliver stroked a thumb over her cheek. "I know this sounds ridiculous. We barely know each other. But I think I'm falling for you."

Her felt her stiffen slightly and for a moment he thought he'd royally screwed up. But then her eyes opened and she pressed her hand against his, holding it to her cheek. "I think I'm falling for you too," she whispered.

He almost laughed in relief. Chloe grinned slightly, biting her lip. "I don't know how or why, but I am."

"I don't care," Oliver whispered. He slid his hand down so that it was wrapped gently around the back of her neck and pulled her towards him. Their lips were barely an inch apart with the door swung open.

Before either of them had time to move, Chloe was thrown across the room. She hit the wall only to be hurled across the space again, with even more force than before. Her head struck an exposed pipe with an audible crack. Blood trickled down her temple. She didn't move.

Oliver stood, rounding on Justin. "What the hell are you doing? You could kill her?"

"That's the point," Justin said, almost mechanically. "She betrayed me. She's no better than the man who ran me over or the surgeon who messed up my hands. They were punished. She should be too." His face darkened and his eyes met Oliver's. "Don't worry. You'll be punished too."

As though a grappling hook had attached itself to his belt loop, Oliver felt himself being hoisted up and he too was thrown across the room. His back slammed against the wall for the third time. Pain radiated through him. He gasped and rolled onto his side, trying to stand.

An awful screeching sound pierced his ears and a shadow fell over him. He looked up to see that the iron door had been ripped off it's hinges and was hovering above him.

"She should have been mine!" Justin hissed. "Mine! But because of you, we can never be together."

"Go to hell!" Oliver spat.

Justin cocked his head slightly and smiled. "Why don't you do it for me?"

Seeing the door begin to fall, Oliver braced himself for the impact.

It never came. A loud thud reverberated through the room. Oliver looked up and saw a young man, tall, broad, with brown hair, dressed in jeans and plaid shirt, holding the door in one hand and an unconscious Justin in the other. Effortless, the man tossed the door through the far wall, creating an exit.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here," Oliver grunted. "And say you're Clark."

Frowning slightly, Clark turned to face him. "How do you..." His gaze fell on Chloe and his frown deepened.

Guessing what the other man was thinking, Oliver heaved himself to his feet and said, "She didn't tell me, if that's what you're thinking. She told me about meteor freaks and then tried to convince me to let her talk Justin into letting me go and keeping her here on the condition that I go to you for help. I guessed that you weren't normal."

Completely uncomfortable with the topic, Clark hoisted Justin over his shoulder. "I'm going to drop Justin off at Belle Reve and then I'll be back for you."

Oliver's mouth fell open. "Are you crazy! Chloe needs a hospital!"

"She didn't tell you what I can do, did she?" Clark asked.

"No but I think it's pretty obvious considering I just saw you toss a giant metal door through the wall!" Oliver snapped.

Clark pursed his lips. For a moment, he considered explaining to Oliver exactly what he could do, then decided it would be easier to just show him. Making sure he had a good grip on the unconscious psycho, Clark sped out of the room leaving Oliver staring after him.

* * *

Chloe woke slowly. Bright florescent light filtered uncomfortably through her eye lids. She tried to remember what had happened before she passed out, but it was all a blur. The last thing she remembered was leaning toward Oliver, about to...

Her eyes snapped open and she sat bolt upright, gasping, "Oliver!"

The entire room swam before her eyes and pain stabbed through her head. A hand grasped her shoulder and pushed her down on the pillows.

"Relax, Chlo," Clark murmured. "You have a concussion. Doctors said you're lucky not to have a cracked skull. You need to lay down."

Chloe glared at her best friend. She wished she had his heat vision that moment. "Oliver's fine," Clark said quickly, recognizing the deadly look in her eyes. "The doctor's checked him out. He had a couple of bruised ribs and he was pretty sore. But he's fine. Justin's in Belle Reve, medicated this time, so he can't do anything. I'm going to tell the doctor you're awake and then I'm going to call Oliver and let him know you're awake."

Coldness suddenly washed over her. "Where is Oliver," she asked in a small voice. He wouldn't have just left, would he?

Clark sighed and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "You guys were missing for almost a day. The minute Oliver was cleared by the doctors, his guardian had him hauled back to Star City. He didn't want to go. I listened to him engage in a shouting match over the phone. I don't know what happened to make him go, but he wasn't happy about it. He's been calling me every thirty minutes."

"Really?" Chloe asked, raising an eyebrow. "How long have I been out?"

"Almost eight hours."

Chloe groaned and closed her eyes. "What did you tell Lois?"

"The truth. Well as much I could," he quickly amended. "She thinks that you and Oliver were kidnapped by a crazy person who was infatuated with you. But she doesn't know about the meteor powers."

Blushing, Chloe cracked an eye and looked at Clark. "About that," she said sheepishly. "I didn't actually tell him. He kind of figured it out. I think he's okay with it and I doubt he'll tell anyone because no one would believe him. And he doesn't know everything. He think's you're meteor infected."

Clark suppressed a grin. "Chloe it's fine. He already told me that he'd keep it a secret and he'd have figured it out when I saved you guys anyway. Don't worry about it."

Chloe sat up and pushed herself to the other side of the bed. "Who are you and what have you done with Clark?"

"Chloe..."

"Don't "Chloe" me Clark," she snapped. "You're number one priority has always been your secret. And I don't blame you for that. I completely understand. So excuse me if I'm just a little surprised that you're not freaking out."

Clark shrugged. "He found out because I saved him, Chloe. It's not your fault. All things considered, he's taking it really well. Besides, I get the feeling that he really likes you and I know what secrets can do to a relationship, so since he already knows that I have powers, you should probably tell him the rest. That way he'll know what's going on."

Chloe's mouth fell open and for once in her life she was completely speechless. She gaped at Clark for a full minute before finding her voice. "Seriously? Who body-snatched you?"

"I may not be exactly comfortable with the idea that someone else knows my secret," he admitted, "but after what happened with Lex, I think that it might be better to just tell Oliver the truth."

"Clark, Lex is trying to figure out your secret so he can use you," Chloe pointed out. "Why would you think that this time revealing it is the right idea?"

"Because if Oliver was anything like Lex, the first thing he would have done was made some kind of threat to expose me to the world," Clark replied. "But that's not what he did. He did the same thing as you. He told me that my secret was safe and then didn't bring it up again. I trust you Chloe and if Oliver is anything like you, I think I can trust him."

Chloe stared at her best friend. "When did you get so mature?" she asked weakly.

"Maybe hanging out with you knocked some sense into me," he shrugged. "I'm going to go call Oliver so that he'll stop freaking out and deal with whatever the problem is in Star City and then I'm going to get the doctor so we can spring you before Lois does it herself."

* * *

_Author's Note: I know you're probably wanting to bombard me with rotten produce right about now with that almost kiss, but I felt like it was a little too soon for that. This may be a little OOC for Clark, but this is how I always wanted him to act. Now I'm going to duck and cover :D_


	6. Chapter 6

**Title**: Twist of Fate

**Rating**: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

**Summary**: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

**Warning**: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

_Author's Note: This chapter was hard to write in places and I'm not sure that I'm one hundred percent happy with it, but I don't feel like I can do anything else, so I'm posting it. Hope you like it.

* * *

_

Chapter 6

It had been a week. Seven whole days since Clark had come barreling in and rescued them from Justin. One hundred and sixty-eight hours since Oliver had been forced to go back to Star City. Ten thousand and eighty minutes since he'd last seen Chloe, even longer since he'd spoken to her seeing as she'd been unconscious at the time. They'd been playing phone tag since he left.

Oliver growled angrily and sank into a chair, glaring out the window at the Star City skyline.

Across the room, his guardian, Matt Rolston, sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what to tell you, Oliver. We're stuck between a rock and a hard place. The board thinks you're too irresponsible to run the company. They want to vote you out."

"I thought they couldn't do that?" Oliver groaned. "My parents left the company to me."

"And you inherited it three months ago on your birthday," Matt said tiredly. "I know you said you didn't want to run things until you'd at least graduated high school. But the fact is, you're technically the CEO, even if you have someone else running things. Because you're also the face of the company, the board has every right to try to lock you out until you're twenty-five and I doubt the'll want to let you back in."

"And they think that because I was kidnapped that they have the right to do that?" Oliver demanded.

Matt snatched a stack of magazines off the table and tossed them at Oliver. "Do you see how the tabloids are spinning this?"

Oliver didn't bother to even look at the magazines. He'd seen all the headlines so many times that they were burned into his brain. Heir to Queen Industries Beats Girlfriend. Mr. Queen Reveals Violent Streak. Girl Hospitalized After Oliver Queen Loses Control. And his personal favorite, Oliver Queen Involved in Satanic Cult.

"Now I know that's not what happened," Matt said. "And I'm pretty sure half the population of Smallville could back you up, but until you're willing to produce evidence to the contrary instead of just saying "no comment" the press is going to believe this garbage. Everything you do and everything the company does will be under scrutiny. We've already got investors threatening to pull out if this isn't cleared up. I get that want to give this girl her privacy. That's why I pulled you out of Smallville when I did. But you're going to have to give them something. The police reports aren't good enough. You know as well as I do how easily those could have been faked to cover your ass."

"So instead a girl who was terrorized by a stalker has to come forward and tell the board exactly what happened?" Oliver snapped.

"I'm not saying I like it," Matt sighed. "But that may be our only choice. And I'd recommend that the guy who found you come forward as well. The more people you have backing you up the better."

"Easier said than done," Oliver grumbled under his breath. He'd been speaking to Clark on a regular basis since he'd had trouble getting a hold of Chloe and he already knew how protective the other man was of his secret. He doubted Clark would want to tell the board of Queen Industries what had happened, even if he did leave out the superpowered bits.

Matt collected his briefcase and stood. "I'm gonna head over to the office and see if I can't clear some of this up. I already have the legal department pressuring the tabloids to print retractions. But until you give me something else, that's all I can do."

"Thanks for everything," Oliver said softly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Shaking his head, Matt left the room. Oliver pulled his phone out of his pocket and stared at it.

* * *

"All right. That's it!" Lois shouted, launching herself across the room to where Chloe sat on her bed. "You are done moping! Talk to me!"

"There's nothing to tell, Lo," Chloe sighed.

"Oh yes there is!" Lois snapped. "You've been pining over jolly green giant ever since he left. What happened?"

Knowing there was no stopping Lois once she got started, Chloe relented. "While we were waiting for Justin to come back, he told me he was falling for me and I might have said that I thought I was too and we might have almost kissed."

Lois gaped at her. "You almost had a major lip lock with one of the wealthiest and hottest guys to walk the planet and you didn't TELL ME?"

"Well excuse me if I was a bit preoccupied by the fact that we were almost bludgeoned to death by my psycho stalker!" Chloe glared at her cousin. "I haven't even gotten to talk to him about it. For all I know, it was just the stress of the situation getting to us."

"That's bullshit," Lois snapped. "And you know it, which makes it double bullshit. Now I realize that you were unconscious for this, but believe me when I say he was the one verbally castrating the doctors, not me. I was playing nice. Well actually I was just enjoying the show, but that's not the point. Do you really think I haven't noticed how many times he's called you since he's been gone? I hear the messages too, you know. Hell, I've answered at least three times! Do you really think he'd be playing phone tag like that with someone he'd had a thing for in the heat of the moment?"

"Maybe," Chloe squeaked.

Lois sighed. "Cuz, I know you're used to coming in second. But Oliver likes you! Smallville can see it and we both know how useless he is when it comes to love!"

At that, Chloe smiled slightly. "He is pretty clueless. It's just...I'm not used to have guys like me back. I've been in one-sided relationships. Either I'm head over heals in love with them, or they're trying to kill me. I don't know what to do with this."

Lois shifted closer and put her arm around Chloe's shoulder. "I may not know Oliver very well," she said. "But I saw the way he was looking at you at the Talon, like you were a puzzle that he needed to solve. And when he picked you up to go the bonfire, he had the first real smile I'd ever seen on him."

"How did you know that?" Chloe asked suspiciously. "Were you spying on me?"

"Well duh!" Lois rolled her eyes. "You get a mysterious phone call and tried to tell me that you were going to get down and dirty with Pete and Clark in the Kents' barn. Can you say misdirection? I saw through it in a heartbeat. I watched you through the bathroom window."

Chloe laughed. "You're shameless. You know that right?"

"Yep!" Lois said cheerfully. "It's why you love me. Now stop interrupting."

Making a show of locking her lips, Chloe indicated for Lois to go on.

"Like I said earlier, Oliver was the one the practically assaulting the doctors to find out if you were all right. And I'm willing to bet that it he hadn't been forcibly dragged to Star City, he wouldn't have left your hospital room. And if that's not enough proof," Lois added, "despite everything that was going on, he was polite and civil to me and I'm an ass."

Chloe laughed again. "All right. You convinced me. I'm done being insecure."

"Good." Lois stood and hurried across the room. She dropped to her stomach beside her bed and pulled out an old shoebox. Returning to Chloe's bed, she sat down next to her cousin and opened the box. She dug out a wad of cash and held it up.

"Last time I counted, there was almost eight hundred dollars here," she said. "That should be enough to buy a round trip ticket to Star City and an amazing outfit for when you see him."

Chloe's mouth fell open. "Lois! I can't take that! You've been saving for months. You had to have a reason."

"Not really," Lois shrugged. "It's my emergency cash. And this is definitely an emergency. Seeing you all sad and mopey has me depressed too, which is seriously cramping my style. Now come on!" She grabbed Chloe's wrist and pulled her off the bed. "We have to go shopping! Grab your purse and get your butt downstairs."

"Lois," Chloe whined.

"Nope, no excuses. Come on."

The phone rang. Chloe immediately grabbed the handset

"Don't you dare!" Lois hissed. "If that's Smallville, you'd better tell him that you're unavailable. I don't care what farm emergency he's having! I mean it Chlo."

Ignoring her cousin's threatening, Chloe hit the button and brought the phone to her ear. "Sullivan residence."

"Chloe?"

She nearly dropped the phone. "Hi, Oliver."

Lois' eyes widened. "On second thought, stay here. I'm gonna get a snack. You two chat."

Chloe rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the phone. "How are you?" she asked softly.

"I'd be better if I was in Smallville with you," he answered truthfully.

"Really?"

Oliver gripped the phone more tightly. "I'm pretty sure that last time we were together we were interrupted by a telekinetic maniac. I think I owe you a kiss, don't I?"

"Maybe." Chloe bit her lip. "Are you all right?"

"Still a little sore, but in one piece. What about you?"

"I'm fine. My head doesn't hurt any more and you can barely see the bruise."

"That's good," Oliver murmured. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there when you woke up. I didn't want to leave, but things...things came up and I didn't have a choice."

"Clark told me you calling every half hour," she said with a hint of a smile. "I kind of figured you hadn't wanted to leave. Thanks for worrying about me. You really didn't have to."

His eyebrows shot up. He stood and began pacing the living room. "Are you kidding me?" he demanded. "The girl I'm developing feelings for was thrown against a wall and knocked out! Of course I'm going to worry."

Chloe flinched slightly at the indignation in his voice. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm just not used to having someone worry about me like that."

"Oh." Oliver's voice softened. "Well in that case, thank you for worrying about me. You know, I really, really miss you."

"I miss you, too," she whispered. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. She wiped them away and silently ordered herself to suck it up. She was not about to cry while she was on the phone with him. "When do you think you'll be back?"

"That's the thing," Oliver answered slowly. "I'm not sure and that's kind of why I called. I don't suppose you've been reading the tabloids, have you."

She shook her head, forgetting that he could't see her. "Not lately. Why?"

"They don't have a lot of details, but someone heard enough to know that something happened." He hated that he had to be the one to tell her. He hated what he had to ask her to do. "The story's spreading that...that I'm the one that put in the hospital."

"What?" she gasped.

"They don't know who you are, or even where you are," he assured her quickly. "But someone overheard me telling my guardian, Matt, that I kinda felt like it was my fault any of it had happened. The first story was printed in Star City, a couple of hours after Clark got us to the hospital."

Chloe was silent for a long moment before whispering, "Is that why you had to go back?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, my god," she whimpered, unable to keep the tears out of her voice. "I'm so sorry, Oliver. If it wasn't for me, Justin never would have gone after you. None of this would have happened."

"Yeah, and it's probably my fault this got to the papers," he said soothingly. "You don't have to apologize."

"Is there anything I can do?" Chloe asked.

Oh, boy. "Yeah. And I feel like a complete dick for asking, but the board's trying to prove that I'm not fit to run things. And apparently, it's not enough for me to tell the papers that nothing happened and give the board my side of the story."

"Oh," Chloe whispered as realization washed over her. "You need me to tell them what happened. Would I need to make a statement to the papers, too?"

"Probably," he admitted. "Look if you're not comfortable with this, you don't have to do anything. I can come up with something to solve this problem. But it may be a while before I get back-"

"Ollie," Chloe said softly, interrupting his rambling. "I'll do it."

"You will?"

She almost laughed at the astonishment in his voice. "Yeah. I'll see if Clark can give me a lift out to Star City. There should be fewer questions that way."

"I'll text him the address of the penthouse. Thank you so much," he whispered. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered back. "Bye."

The moment she hung up, Chloe grabbed her purse and bolted out the door.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Chloe was standing in the Kents' barn, a duffle bag on the floor in front of her. Clark placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked.

Chloe nodded. "Yeah."

"Just making sure." Clark picked up her duffle and slung it across his back before scooping her into her arms, bridal style, and held her close to his chest. "Ready?"

"Let's go."

Chloe squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face against Clark's neck. She still wasn't used to traveling by super-speed. It almost always made her slightly queasy. The wind buffeted her back and tore at her hair. And then just like that it was over.

"You can look now," Clark murmured, setting her on her feet.

Clutching her stomach, Chloe opened her eyes and looked around the penthouse. The decor was very modern and a little cold. Oliver was standing on the opposite side of the living room. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.

As soon as her stomach settled, Chloe crossed the room to him. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," he said weakly. "I'm just still getting used to the idea that Clark can cover half the continental US in less than a minute."

Clark grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that. I forget that people find it weird."

"Just a little," Oliver deadpanned.

"Then I guess that means we shouldn't introduce you the kid we met last year who as even faster than Clark, huh?" Chloe joked.

"Faster? How can someone be faster?"

"Just go with it," Clark advised. "If you come back to Smallville, you'll meet weirder. I should get back to the farm. I'll see you guys tomorrow." With a gust of wind he was gone.

Oliver looked down at Chloe. "How do you get used to that?"

"I'm not sure that I am," she admitted. "Do you know what he meant that he'd see us tomorrow?"

"Oh, I called him before I called you. I wanted his advice on how much of all this," he gestured at the stack of tabloids still lying on the table, "I should tell you. I was a little caught up in everything and I kinda blurted out that Matt wanted Clark to tell his side of the story too."

"And he agreed?" Chloe asked incredulously.

Oliver nodded. "I was surprised too. But before I had a chance to ask him why he was willing to risk it he told me that you'd want to know what's going on so you could make your own decision and hung up."

"Wow. He's really taking this well."

"I get the feeling he's generally pretty protective about his secret," Oliver said.

Chloe only nodded. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her to the couch and sat down. "How was Clark exposed to the meteor rock?"

He was avoiding the reason she was there and he knew it. But he was genuinely curious and he just didn't want to think about what he was asking her to do. Chloe leaned against the side of the couch and bit her lip. Oliver waited patiently, playing with her fingers as he did.

"You can't tell this to anyone," she finally said. "I mean, I still can't believe Clark's letting me tell you. But he is and I don't want there to be secrets between us."

Oliver squeezed her hand. "I won't tell anyone. I swear."

"All right," she nodded. "Clark's an alien from the planet that's the source of the meteor rocks. His parents sent him here in a spaceship so that he'd survive when the planet exploded. The radioactive meteor rocks are actually poisonous to him."

She said everything in one breath, and when she was done, she bit her lip and waited for Oliver to say something.

"Clark's an alien," he said slowly.

"Yeah," Chloe whispered.

"As in not human?"

"Yeah."

"But he looks human."

"Uh huh."

"Is there anything else he can do?"

Chloe nodded miserably. "He has heat vision. Basically, he can shoot lasers out of his eyes. He also has x-ray vision, super-hearing, and super-breath. We think he's also supposed to be able to fly, because every now and then he wakes up hovering, but he's never actually managed it. He's also impervious to harm, unless there's meteor rock around."

For a long moment, they just sat there as Oliver absorbed what she'd told him. He wasn't freaking out as much as he probably should have been, but then again, in the past week, he'd been kidnapped and nearly killed by someone with the ability to move objects with their mind. After a few more minutes, Chloe got up and walked to the windows.

It's too much, she thought fretfully. He's freaking out and he's going to tell me to get lost. I should have waited until things had calmed down to tell him.

Oliver could see from her reflection in the glass that she was freaking out. She was probably assuming the worst about him, that he was panicking. That would be the the most reasonable reaction on his part. He couldn't blame her for being uneasy and hadn't exactly settled anything between them before Justin had interrupted.

Sighing, he stood and crossed the room. Chloe was so absorbed in her thoughts, she didn't notice his approach until he stepped in front of her. She started slightly. Grin tugging at his lips, Oliver laid his hands on her shoulders. "You know, I don't think I gave you a proper welcome."

"Really?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. The nervousness in her voice was almost masked by the snark.

His grin broadened. "Really."

Slowly, he bent and brushed his lips tenderly against her cheek. He got the feeling that she wasn't quite ready for a real kiss. After a moment, he felt the tension begin to leave her and he pulled her tightly against his chest. Chloe reflexively wrapped her arms around him, letting his much larger frame engulf her.

"Have a mentioned that I missed you?" he murmured.

Chloe chuckled. "Not since we got off the phone. If it makes you feel better, I missed you too. I was driving Lois crazy."

"Well we can't have that," he said, pulling away slightly to look at her. "Do you want to watch a movie and order pizza? We never did get to it the other night."

"Sounds good. What movie do you have in mind?"

Oliver shrugged. "Why don't you pick something while I order the pizza? They're in that cabinet."

Reluctantly, Chloe moved away from him and knelt in front of the entertainment center. He had more movies than a video store.

"Don't tell me you've actually watched all these." Chloe shouted over her shoulder.

"Most of them," Oliver laughed from the kitchen. "What do you want on your pizza?"

"Anything but anchovies and olives!"

"All right."

Turning back to his movie collection, Chloe examined the dozens of movies carefully. At last half a dozen titles jumped out at her. After a moment, she sighed and clapped a hand over her eyes and grabbed blindly grabbed for a movie. She knocked about three off the shelf in the process.

"What are you doing?" Oliver asked from behind her, laughing.

She felt her cheeks redden as she replaced the movies she'd knocked down. "I'm picking a movie. What's it' look like I'm doing?'

Oliver did his best to suppress is laughter. "And what did you chose?"

Chloe held it up over her shoulder and he arched an eyebrow. "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves?"

"Is that okay?"

Laughing, Oliver bent and kissed her on the cheek again. "That's my favorite."

"Go figure," she whispered. "Did you get the pizza ordered?"

"Yep. Pop the movie in and come sit down."

"Why don't you put the movie in?" Chloe suggested. "I don't know how to use your system."

As the opening credits played, Olive sat on the couch beside Chloe. He wasn't sure what she would be comfortable with. He was almost sure she hadn't been on many dates, so he was going to let her call the shots. Sensing that Oliver was letting her take the lead, Chloe moved closer to him so that she was pressed up against his side. He draped his arm over his shoulder and pulled her close.

"Before it get's too late," Oliver said slowly, hesitating slightly. "Where do you want to stay while you're here? I have a guest room, but if you'd be more comfortable at a hotel, I can call and arrange a room."

Flushing slightly, Chloe reached up and twined her fingers through his. "Here's fine. If I won't be in the way."

Squeezing her hand, Oliver whispered, "You could never be in the way."

Chloe burrowed a little more securely into his side and the two lapsed into silence as they watched the movie.


	7. Chapter 7

**Title**: Twist of Fate

**Rating**: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

**Summary**: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

**Warning**: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

* * *

Chapter 7

Just as Chloe was beginning to become wonderfully relaxed and just barely sleepy, a buzz pierced the apartment. She started slightly. Oliver chuckled and rubbed her arm. "It's just the pizza," he said before extricating himself and standing.

Chloe grabbed the remote off the back of couch and paused the movie.

"You don't have to do that," Oliver said, glancing over at her as he pulled his wallet out of his pocket. "I've seen this a hundred times. You can keep watching it while I"m getting the pizza."

A slight blush tinged her cheeks as she answered. "I'm actually going to change into something more comfortable. Where's the bathroom?"

Oliver suppressed a smile. "You can use the one in the guest room. Second door on the right down that hall. Make yourself at home."

She nodded and grabbed her bag, disappearing down the hall. Feeling slightly warm, he watched her go. The thought of her being comfortable in his home and comfortable with him was suddenly vitally important. Chloe Sullivan had worked her way into his life without even trying and he was glad she had. He'd been alone for so long, surrounded by people who didn't care about him, just his business. With Chloe, he didn't feel alone anymore. He felt like actually living his life instead of just going through the motions and being who people thought he should be. He wondered if she knew what an effect she was having on him and marveled at the fact that it was happening so quickly.

The sound of the elevator rattling to life, broke Oliver out his thoughts. Frowning, he moved to the computer on his desk and hit a button, activating the live feed from the elevator. The image revealed Matt, clutching the pizza Oliver had ordered and pacing the length of the small lift.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Oliver muttered. He glanced back toward the guest room. How was he going to explain how she'd gotten there?

He didn't have time to come up with an answer. The elevator door rattled open and Matt strode into the room. Oliver forced himself to remain calm and to keep his face emotionless.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Matt frowned. "I'm trying to save your ass, remember," he snapped. "And we've hit a slight bump in the road that I thought you'd like to know about."

Gritting his teeth, Oliver replied, "I'm sure a phone call would have sufficed. But you're here, so why don't you tell me?"

Matt dropped the pizza on the table and crossed his arms. "Things are worse than I thought. The lawyers are having absolutely no luck getting the tabloids to print a retraction and our attempts are only making things worse. On top of that, the board is demanding an answer. They want your story by tomorrow, in person, and they want a press release published in the Post. Now I have done everything I can to avoid this, but you are just out of options, Oliver. I hope you've practiced your story, because unless some kind of miracle occurs, you're going to have trouble convincing the board to believe you."

"Why wouldn't they believe him?" Chloe asked from behind them. She'd come out of the bathroom, dressed in a pair of sweats and an old t-shirt, when she heard voices coming from the living room. Recognizing that Oliver hadn't started the movie without her as a joke, she'd padded down the hall to see what was going on and had overheard the majority of their conversation.

Oliver shot her an apologetic look. She raised one shoulder and rolled her eyes slightly as though saying that there was nothing he could have done.

"You have got to be kidding me," Matt snapped, interrupting their silent conversation. "With everything else going on, you're already bringing random girls back to your apartment for a quick lay? What the hell is wrong with you? Don't you think you're in enough trouble?"

Chloe bristled, as much for Oliver as for herself. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm his guardian-"

"Ex-guardian," Oliver cut in. "You really need to remember that. Especially if you're going to continue to insult my girlfriend." He winced internally as he said the G-word. He and Chloe hadn't defined anything and while he was already hoping that they would end up as a couple, he didn't want to rush things. But he knew that it was better to label whatever it was that was between them than attempt to leave it undefined as long as they were under scrutiny. He just hoped Chloe didn't run the other direction.

"Girlfriend?" Matt scoffed. "You have to be kidding me. You've never been in a serious relationship. You expect me to believe that you're going to start now? And if you think that the board are going to believe you, you're sadly mistaken. This will just make everything worse."

Oliver's eyes narrowed. "Weren't you the one that told me I needed someone to back up my story? And now you're complaining that she's here?"

As comprehension played across the other man's face, Oliver motioned at Chloe to join him. Still slightly dazed at hear him refer to her as his girlfriend, she did, leaning against his side when she reached him. He pulled her close, then turned his attention back to Matt.

"This is Chloe Sullivan," Oliver said coolly, barely containing his anger toward his guardian. "She's my girlfriend and the girl who was kidnapped with me. She's already agreed to speak to the board about what happened." He cringed again at having to use the word.

Matt gaped at them for a moment before glaring at Chloe suspiciously. "I thought you hadn't even called her when I left. There's no way you could have spoken to her, booked a flight, and gotten her out here since then."

Cursing himself, Oliver scrambled to come up with a plausible story. But Chloe, practiced in the art of cover stories thanks to her close association with Clark, beat him to it.

"My cousin lent me the money," she said, her voice ringing with authority and confidence that she barely felt. "I came out here to surprise Oliver. I missed him and felt a little guilty about what happened since it was my stalker that tried to beat him to death. When he told me what was going on, I agreed to help."

"Really?" Matt deadpanned. "Just like that?"

She stiffened ever so slightly. "Oliver's my best friend and my boyfriend. Of course I want to help him." Chloe was pretty sure that Oliver had said she was his girlfriend rather than attempt to explain that they were more than friends but less than a couple and hoped that he didn't read too much into the fact that she referred to him as her boyfriend.

"And you're willing to tell the world exactly what happened with Justin Gaines?" he asked skeptically. "Leaving out none of the details?"

"I believe she already covered that," Oliver snapped. "Now if you don't mind, we were trying to have a relaxing evening in front of the TV. Alone. I"m sure we'll see you tomorrow. Until then, don't let the door hit you in the ass."

Matt reddened in anger again, but he bit his tongue and stormed out of the apartment with one last glare. Oliver let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and glanced down at Chloe.

"I'm so sorry about that. I wasn't expecting him until tomorrow at the earliest." He trailed off, glaring at the elevator. "I really hate that man."

"It's not your fault," Chloe said soothingly. "And everything worked out. Unfortunately, I do need to get to a computer. I have a feeling he's going to check flight records. I need to do a little tweaking so it looks like I flew in earlier."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "You can do that?"

"Maybe." She blushed slightly. "I taught myself to hack. It's a skill that comes in handy with researching. But after I found out about Clark, I started getting a lot more practice and I learned some other tricks to help cover our tracks and keep us out of trouble."

Shaking his head in wonderment, he directed her to the computer at his desk and watched in fascination as her fingers flew over the keys. She was completely focused and in less than half an hour had altered the flight records of a regional line so that it appeared as though she'd arrived in Star City via airplane instead of alien. Her fingers paused slightly and she looked up at him.

"Oliver," she said slowly. "Do you know which tabloid was the first to publish the story?"

He nodded, frowning slightly. "Why?"

"Because I can hack into their database and find out who gave them the information," she answered matter-of-factly.

A grin spread slowly across his face. "I should have thought of that sooner."

After giving Chloe the name of the tabloid, Oliver pulled up a chair and watched her work. In a matter of minutes, she'd managed to get into the e-mail account of the reporter who'd written the story. There she found an encrypted e-mail that she easily broke into.

"Can you trace it?" Oliver asked.

"You bet," she answered, an almost evil smile on her lips.

The clicking of keys filled the room again. But then she stopped abruptly and stared at the screen, a look of shock on her face.

"What is it?" Oliver demanded, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Did you hit a dead end or something?"

Chloe shook her head. "No. I hit the jackpot. But unfortunately, there wasn't a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Oliver, I traced the e-mail back to the Queen Industries server."

"What?"

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"Can you tell who?"

"If I can gain access to the server, I can trace the IP address."

Oliver nodded. Reaching over, he punched a few keys and the firewall disengaged. "Perks of being the CEO," he smiled weakly. "Can any of this be used as evidence once we find out who it was?"

"Absolutely," Chloe assured him. "Communications on a company server are supposed to be monitored. That's got to be why whoever sent this encrypted it. If it's on the server, and it is, then you have every right to decrypt and read it."

"Good," he said firmly. "That's what I wanted to hear."

Chloe quickly turned back to the computer and worked her magic. When her fingers stilled again, she cursed under her breath. "You're not going to believe this."

"What?" Oliver looked over her shoulder at the name displayed on the screen.

"That," she whispered.

"Son of a bitch," Oliver hissed. "It was Matt? I knew the guy was an ass, but I never expected this."

"It makes sense," Chloe sighed. "He practically ran the company while you were growing up. I doubt he wanted to give it up, even if it was legally yours. And with the way you've been playing the part of irresponsible playboy really well, he probably doesn't think you deserve it."

"So he saw this as the perfect opportunity to get rid of me," Oliver finished. "Wonderful. I bet he's been egging the board along instead of helping me deal with them."

"Probably," she admitted. "But what he doesn't know, is who he's messing with. I'll have Clark get all the documents, even the police reports from the first time Justin attacked me and from when he was hit by that car. There'll be no way they can't believe us. And when we show them this, it'll take the power out of the tabloids."

Oliver gazed at her earnest face and sighed. "And we'll do it together, right?"

"Definitely," Chloe smiled. "Apparently we're together and that is what couples do, right?" She arched an eyebrow at stared at him challengingly.

He winced. "About that, I don't know what this is between us, not yet at least, and while I want to find out, I don't want to rush it. I want to do this right. But, and I hate that this is true, we may have to deal with others labeling us as a couple before we are. If we try to tell people that we're not, the press will spin it and make matters worse. I'm so sorry if that makes you uncomfortable."

"Not really." Chloe shrugged, looking up at him gently. "As long as we know where we stand, I could care less what other people think. Now let's eat some pizza before it gets cold and watch Robin Hood shoot things. We'll deal with all of this tomorrow."

* * *

The next morning found Oliver, Chloe, and Clark standing in the executive conference room at Queen Industries. She was wearing a pencil skirt and a green silk blouse with high heels and had curled her hair. Both of the boys were wearing suits and both looked incredibly handsome. Chloe had felt her entire body heat up at the sight of Oliver and had buried her head in one of the police files Clark had brought so that he wouldn't have noticed. She needn't have worried though. Oliver had been sufficiently distracted by the sight of her ass in that pencil skirt.

They didn't have long before the board arrived. Most of them had been with the company since before Oliver's parents died. They were hoping that they'd be willing to see past some of the stupid things Oliver had done and realize that he wasn't a complete and total irresponsible idiot. Chloe suppressed a giggle as she remembered the indignant glare Oliver had sent her way when she said that. She'd just grinned brightly and ignored him.

Clark was staring out the window. She could tell that he was nervous. It was one thing to lie to the sheriff of a small town when said sheriff would never believe the truth. But he was about to risk his secret to a room full of people because it was the right thing to do. Chloe wasn't sure what had happened to Clark to make him start acting the way he was, but she wasn't about to question it. From the moment Chloe had found out about his power and what he was doing to stop the meteor freaks, she'd seen that he could become a real superhero and it seemed that was exactly what he was doing.

Turning her attention away from Clark, Chloe looked at Oliver, who was seated at the head of the table. He was even more tense than Clark. She could tell that he was brooding. Chloe moved to stand beside him and took his hand, squeezing it lightly.

"You ready?" she asked.

He nodded. "You?"

"Yeah."

At the moment, the doors at the other end of the room opened and the board filed in. They all greeted Oliver warmly, casting curious looks at Chloe and Clark as they did. Oliver introduced them and the members of the board greeted them as well before sitting down. A reporter and photographer from the Star City Post were also present. They were getting the exclusive true story. Matt Rolston was the last to enter. His face was completely blank as he closed the doors and made his way to his seat. Chloe watched him carefully as he did, looking for any sign of what he was thinking.

Wouldn't it be awesome if one of Clark's abilities was telepathy? she found herself thinking idly.

Once everyone was seated, Oliver stood and addressed the room. "I trust everyone knows why we're here today. Recently there have been some troubling stories about me in the papers."

"Troubling is an understatement," one of the board members interjected. "Oliver, we understand that you're still just a kid having some fun, and most of the headlines don't bother us and have no effect on the company, but this," he pulled one of tabloids out of his folder as he spoke, "is completely different."

"I understand that," Oliver said. "And I have every intention of clearing it up."

A man sitting about half way down the table leaned forward. Chloe recognized him as Adam Reynolds, one of the younger board members and one of the people Oliver thought they'd have the most trouble convincing. "I hate to imply this," he said insincerely, "but how will we know you're telling the truth? With an accusation like this, we can't risk that chance that someone will go looking for dirt and find that we covered this up."

"Again, I completely understand. Which is why I have not only invited the two people who can corroborate my story," Oliver gestured at Chloe and Clark before turning back to the board, "but also the police reports."

The man wasn't finished. "We were led to believe that you had no intention of addressing this issue. What changed your mind?"

Chloe noticed Oliver tense just the smallest bit and was surprised that she knew him well enough to see that. When he spoke, his voice shook almost imperceptibly with anger. "That is completely untrue. I was a little more preoccupied with trying to deal with the tabloids."

"Then what happened?" Mr. Reynolds demanded.

Chloe place a hand on Oliver's arm and stood. "I think I can answer that."

He eyed her curiously "And who are you?"

"Chloe Sullivan," she answered, looking defiantly in the eye. "Junior at Smallville High, editor of the Torch and I also happen to be the girl the tabloids have accused Oliver of assaulting."

A murmur filled the room and everyone stared her until the first man who'd spoken raised his voice over the commotion and asked, rather gently, "And what exactly happened?"

Taking a deep breath, Chloe drew herself up to her full height and told them everything, starting at the beginning. She left out the details of Justin's power, but told them how he'd been injured in a hit and run. How he'd killed the man he thought responsible. How he'd become fixated on her because she'd kept in touch while he was in recovery. She told them about the first time he'd attacked her, even showing them the almost completely faded bruise he'd left behind. She told them how she and Oliver had met and what had happened when they'd run into each other at the Talon. Again, details were left out when Chloe mentioned that she and Oliver had had an intimate conversation at the bonfire, but she did tell them that they had both opened up. She told them about waking in the concrete room, about watching as Justin manhandle Oliver and throw him against the wall.

That was the first big lie. She, Oliver, and Clark had agreed that there was no way Justin could have inflicted as much damage as he had if it hadn't been for his powers. Oliver was too athletic and Justin's injuries would have made it difficult. So they'd spun the story that she and Oliver had been drugged and that he'd still been suffering the effects when Justin came in.

Oliver sat beside her, wanting to be close to her but not wanting to draw attention away from her, as she told the board what happened. She never faltered. His chest swelled with pride even as his heart constricted. They might have been leaving out certain details and adding others, but Chloe was still having to relive two very traumatic events. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and keep the pain away, to protect her from those memories. But he didn't. He knew that she wanted to appear strong for the board, and for him.

"When Justin pushed me against the wall," she finished, "I hit my head on a pipe and blacked out. The next thing I remember, I was waking up in the hospital and Oliver was in Star City."

Silence filled the room. Even Matt Rolston seemed floored by what Chloe had said. She waited a minute, thinking there would be questions, but when none come, she sat down and Clark stood. The nerves were gone, replaced with a cool facade that seemed to exude the power he always had when he was saving someone using his powers. Without any hesitation, he told the board his side of things. It was the first time Chloe had heard most of it, or at least the powerless version.

According to the revised story, the first time he'd rescued Chloe from Justin, Clark had been headed out to the barn to meet Chloe so they could study in his loft. But Justin had gotten there first and had knocked her unconscious. Clark was able to stop him from hitting her again and his dad had called the police. The second time, Lois had called to see if Chloe had crashed at his place when she didn't come back from the bonfire. When they realized she was missing, Lois had called the sheriff, who had organized a search part. No one even realized that Oliver was missing since Chloe hadn't told Lois they were going together. Clark had decided to check out one of the old abandoned cream corn factory. When he heard shouts and banging, so he went in just in time to keep Justin from hitting Oliver with a pipe. Clark grabbed Justin and managed to knock him out before calling the sheriff and an ambulance.

Again, silence filled the room as Clark returned to his seat. Chloe reached over and squeezed her friend's hand. She was extremely proud of what he'd done. He shrugged slightly as if saying that it was all part of the job and returned his attention to the board members.

Adam Reynolds was the first to break the silence. "That's quite a tale. And I for one would very much like to believe you, but it's not enough to just hear your side of the story. We need some kind of proof."

Chloe stood and held up the folder Clark had brought with him. "These are copies of the police reports of the accident that hospitalized Justin, his first attack on me, and mine and Oliver's kidnapping. There is also a psychological evaluation from Belle Reve stating that he is indeed fixated on me. The Smallville sheriff's number is in there as well if you'd like to confirm any of this."

She dropped the folder on the table and crossed her arms, glaring Mr. Reynolds. "And I want to make one thing perfectly clear," she hissed. "Oliver has never laid a hand on me in anger. He was willing to get himself killed rather than leave me in a cell with that psychopath. He has never been anything less than a gentleman and I'm personally insulted that anyone would use me to insinuate otherwise."

Trying desperately to ignore the surge of warmth her words brought so that he could concentrate on the matter at hand, Oliver stood as well and placed his hands on the table. "Which brings us to another important matter. As you all know, anything on the Queen Industries server is subject to examination as part of the company privacy policy. A standard scan turned up an encrypted e-mail which I had the tech department decrypt. Apparently, one of my employees sent the tabloids an e-mail with certain details about what had happened with Justin Gaines as well as details that were completely untrue."

Mr. Reynolds jumped in when Oliver paused to take a breath. "Are you saying that a member of Queen Industries fed the story to the press?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Oliver said solemnly. "The tech department was able to trace the IP address in the e-mail to the person that sent it. I have to say, of all the people I thought it might be, I wasn't expecting the result to be Matt Rolston."

Matt blanched. "Are you seriously accusing me-"

"Yes I am," Oliver hissed. "I had the tech department triple check the results. This morning I sent the information to the legal department, who checked your finances, again part of the nifty privacy policy you signed, and they found that you received a payment from the first tabloid to accuse me of beating Chloe." He took an envelope from his pocket and tossed it across the table. "Not only are you fired, but you're being sued."

Before Matt could protest, two burly security guards materialized behind him and escorted him bodily from the room.

"Now that that's been cleared up," Oliver said, his tone much lighter than before. "I've hope we've put any of your fears to rest."Everyone, including Adam Reynolds, nodded. "Then I think we're done here," he finished cheerfully. "Thank you all for your time and my sincerest apologies for the inconvenience."

The board members stood. Several approached Chloe and applauded her courage for speaking out or apologized that it had even been necessary in the first place. One of the older men was the last to leave.

"Does this mean you plan on taking a more active role in leading the company?" he asked, eyeing Oliver speculatively.

"Not yet," Oliver answered softly. "I'm still in high school. I want to graduate and take the summer to decide. I'm not sure I'm ready for it."

The old man nodded. "Well if it helps, not many people could have handled that situation withe poise you did. When you do decide to take up the reins, I've a feeling the company will be in good hands. Good day."

Oliver stared after him until he felt Chloe slip an arm around his waist. "I'm so glad that's over," she whispered.

"Me too, you both were amazing. Thank you so much."

Clark shrugged. "It was the right thing to do. I have to go. I still have chores to do."

And with that, he sped off. Oliver shook his head. "Yeah, I'm never getting used to that." Chloe laughed and he grinned down at her. "So what do you say you spend the rest of the weekend here before we both head back to Smallville in time for class?"

She frowned as though she was thinking about it. "I don't know. Sounds like it might be fun."

"Might be?" he scoffed. "That's a definite, goldilocks."

"Well in that case, count me in."


	8. Chapter 8

**Title**: Twist of Fate

**Rating**: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

**Summary**: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

**Warning**: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

_Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to get this out. The snow melted, I got over my cold, and classes resumed, resulting in a dramatic decrease in downtime. Anyway, thanks to poetgirl925 for all her help and input. Hope you guys enjoy!

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Chapter 8

Oliver grabbed Chloe's wrist and towed her out of the building. She struggled valiantly to keep up, but the combination of his much longer legs, her confining skirt, and high heels was making it difficult. She nearly tripped twice and it was only his hand that kept her from face-planting.

Grinning broadly, he helped her into the passenger seat of his car before jumping in behind the wheel. As they pulled out of the parking lot, his hand found hers again. He laced his fingers through hers. Chloe felt a blush warm her cheeks just slightly at the simple gesture. Aside from a little cuddling and a couple of innocent kisses on her cheek, they hadn't been intimate in anyway. Hell, they hadn't even talked about anything yet. That was definitely on the list of things she wanted to do that weekend. There was no denying their attraction and she didn't want to, but she needed some ground rules and definitions. After everything that had happened with Clark, she needed to be sure she knew exactly what was going.

A few minutes later, they arrived at Oliver's apartment. Before Chloe could move, he was out of his seat and around the car, opening her door and pulling her out.

A smirk pulled at her lips, even as nervousness clawed at her belly. She knew his reputation and suddenly she was wondering what his definition of "fun" was. "You seem awfully eager," she said, trying to keep the nerves out of her voice. "What exactly do you have planned?"

Oliver started and spun around to face her. They were standing in the elevator on the way up to the penthouse. Chloe was acutely aware of just how small the space was when Oliver loomed over her and instantly regretted her words and what they could possibly mean. His chest was tight. He'd heard the hesitation in her voice and had abruptly realized what it looked like he was doing. He could hardly blame her for jumping to that conclusion. As much as he hated to admit it, too many of the tabloid stories were true. Oliver gently laid his hands on her arms. When she refused to look up at him, he slipped a finger under her chin and tilted her face up.

"I'm not going to push you into anything before either of us is ready for it," he said softly. "I don't like admitting this, but it's the truth, so I will. A lot of those stories about me are true." He ducked his head slightly in shame, but didn't break eye contact. When he spoke again, he voice was even more quiet. "I don't want that to happen to us. This isn't about that for me. And I don't want to you think that it is."

The elevator stopped and the doors slid open. Oliver moved away from Chloe and walked into his apartment. For a moment, she stood frozen. Then she hurried out after him and caught his hand, pulling him around to face her.

"I didn't think that," she assured him in a whisper. "Don't get me wrong, the thought crossed my mind that..." she hesitated slightly, stumbling over the word before managing to continue, "...that might be where you were headed, but I never thought that's all you wanted."

Sighing, he pressed his forehead to hers. "I've never done this before," he admitted.

Her forehead furrowed in confusion and she pulled away slightly to look him in the eye again.. "Done what?"

"Been in an actual relationship."

Chloe's face softened and she smiled slightly. "Me either. But we'll figure it out together."

"I just don't want you to think that this is like all those stories in the tabloids," Oliver murmured, his voice shaking slightly. "I'm not proud of all of that. You're not like anyone else. And I want to do this right."

Her heart melted. Standing on her tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around his neck. A moment passed before her pulled her close, burying his face against her skin. They stood like that for a long moment, just holding each other and reveling in the feel of their bodies pressed together. Then, Chloe pulled away and eyed Oliver with smile.

"Now didn't you say something about fun?"

He grinned slowly. "Yeah. Go grab your bathing suit. We're going to the beach."

"What?" she squeaked. "It's October!"

"And we're in California," he reminded her.

Rolling her eyes, Chloe headed down the guest room. She was immensely glad that Lois had stopped her on her way out the door the other day and insisted on packing her bag. She knew her cousin had thrown in her bikini.

"Are you going to spend the whole day just laying there?"

Chloe cracked an eye open. She was laying on a towel on the beach. They'd only been there for about forty-five minutes. It hadn't been her intention to start sunbathing. Being naturally pale, the first thing Oliver had done when they got there was slather her in sunscreen. He, of course, hadn't needed any and had proceeded to jump into the water while she made herself comfortable and waited for the sunscreen to set in so it wouldn't be washed off. But the feel of the sun warming her skin was intoxicating and beyond relaxing. She no longer had any desire to move.

"Chloe!"

Ignoring him, she closed her eyes and burrowed further into the towel, wiggling her toes into the sand. Oliver, who was standing knee-deep in the water, shook his head.

"Seriously?" he shouted. "You're not gonna move?"

"This is the first time I've been to the beach," she shouted back. "I'm going to enjoy it."

Oliver shook his head. She'd never been to a beach and her idea of fun was laying on a towel. The water was crystal clear and the perfect temperature. That particular stretch of beach was one of his favorites. It was secluded, but not too difficult to get to. There were tide pools not too far away that were always teeming with life. It was just in general peaceful. And she was going to lay there and probably fall asleep.

Yeah, he thought to himself, not going to happen.

As quietly as he could, Oliver slipped out of the ocean and walked across the sand toward where Chloe lay on her towel. The bright purple fabric of her bikini clung to her body, highlighting her curves. When she'd taken off the sundress so he could put sunscreen on her back, Oliver had almost swallowed his tongue.

The gentle sound of the surf masked his footsteps. Careful to stay out of the direct sunlight so his shadow wouldn't hit her, he stalked closer. Chloe hummed contentedly beneath her breath. It was almost a pity to disturb her. Almost.

Before she knew what happened, Oliver scooped her into his arms and ran toward the water's edge. Gasping, Chloe grabbed at his shoulder to steady herself. Catching sight of the wicked grin on his face, she realized what he intended and pushed against his chest in a futile attempt to get free.

"Don't you dare even think about it," she hissed, smacking him when he wouldn't let go.

Oliver only grinned more broadly, arching an eyebrow, and tossed her into the ocean.

She squealed as she hit the water. Bobbing to the surface a second later, she spluttered and scrambled to get her footing. Oliver laughed at the sight. The water came up to her chest and her hair was plastered across her face. Chloe shot a glare at him and was almost knocked over by a wave that hit her square in the back. Oliver laughed again.

"Isn't this so much more fun than laying on a towel?" he teased.

Chloe's eyes narrowed. "Oh I'll show you fun!"

Without warning, she launched herself toward him. Taken by surprise, Oliver fell backward beneath the water. He came up, shaking the water from his face. Chloe smirked triumphantly.

An all out water war ensued. They chased each other down the beach, splashing each other and laughing. Chloe did her best to out run him, but his long legs were a definite advantage in the water. Oliver caught her about the waist and threw her back in the water. Scrambling to her feet again, she tried to knock him back again, but to no avail. He simply planted his feet and caught her, dumping her in the water again. Sitting on her butt in the water, she glared up at him. He simply grinned in return. Chloe kicked her feet in the water, sending droplets arching toward him. Chuckling at her antics, Oliver raised a hand across his face. Taking advantage of his distraction, she tackled his legs, sending him sprawling.

He easily tossed her off of him and rolled onto his side. Knowing she was in trouble, she scrambled to her feet and took off across the sand, giggling as she ran. For a moment, Oliver stood there admiring her as she ran. Her carefree laugh drifted back toward him, warming him from the inside. Being around her had become intoxicating. He barely knew her, but at the same time it felt like they'd always been together. He smiled to himself and when she had a decent start, he took off after her.

When he caught her, Oliver spun Chloe around, but didn't throw her in the water again. Instead, he set her back on her feet and grabbed her hand and pulled her down the beach to the tide pools. They spent hours climbing over the rocks, exploring the pools. Chloe spent twenty minutes lying on her stomach, staring into a small pool that contained fish and crabs, just watching them until he pulled her away to see the other wonders of the beach. As the sun began to set, they made their way back to the stretch of beach where their stuff was spread out.

Chloe collapsed, panting heavily, at the edge of the water. She was completely soaked (Oliver had thrown her in the water again), utterly exhausted, and happier than she'd been in a very long time. Smiling gently, Oliver came to sit beside her. He slid his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. For a long moment they sat in silence. The feel of his skin against hers sent a thrill through her entire body.

He started idly playing with her hair, caressing the nape of her neck. Sighing, Chloe leaned further into his side, resting her head against his shoulder. For the first time in a long time, she felt peaceful.

Soon the sky was painted with a thousand different colors. Oliver looked down at Chloe. She glanced up and quirked an eyebrow.

"What?" she asked.

Before he could stop himself or talk himself out of it, Oliver bent down and pressed his lips against hers. Fire shot through them both at the contact, as though electricity was dancing across their skin. Chloe moaned slightly and returned the kiss, shifting slightly so that she was closer to him. Oliver wrapped an arm about her waist and pulled her closer still. Lightly, he traced her lips with her tongue, making her shiver. Reflexively, her mouth parted slightly. Oliver buried his fingers in her hair, tilting her head slightly to gain better access. Their tongues met, and the fire they felt intensified.

The kiss seemed to last for a moment and for eternity. When Chloe pulled away, she was gasping for breath and her heart was racing. Panting himself, Oliver pressed another light kiss to her lips before chuckling quietly.

"Care to share with the rest of the class?"

He smiled softly. "I'm falling for you, but I barely know you. Chloe, I want to know everything. Will you...will you tell me about yourself?"

Chloe glanced at the sky, which was quickly turning dark, then looked back to Oliver. "Tell you what. Why don't we go back to your apartment and get something to eat and I'll tell you everything you want to know."

Oliver stood and offered her a hand. "Sounds like a plan. Let's go."

* * *

They spent the night swapping stories over chinese takeout. Chloe told him of the many meteor freaks she'd encountered. The number of times she'd landed in the hospital had caused him to raise his eyebrows in astonishment. Then she'd told him about her parents, how her dad had raised her and how she'd found her mother in the mental institution and how much that scared her. At that, he'd pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. She'd swallowed the tears that had threatened to spill down her cheeks and went on, talking about her friends, and growing up in Metropolis before moving to Smallville. She even confessed her long time crush on Clark and how that had crashed down around her ears.

When she was done, Oliver told her about his antics at Excelsior. He didn't leave out a single detail, good or bad. He spoke about the many times he'd been moved to another school, how lonely he'd felt without any family left. She'd squeezed his hand and leaned against him, offering her support as he went on. In a low voice, he regaled her with stories about when his parents had still been alive and all the things they'd done together.

By the time they had both fallen silent, they had no secrets from each other and the sun was beginning to rise. But neither of them noticed as they lounged on the couch, content in their silence, wrapped in each other's arms. A moment passed, and Chloe burrowed more securely into his embrace. Oliver pressed another kiss to her forehead and the two drifted to sleep in each other's arms.


	9. Chapter 9

**Title**: Twist of Fate

**Rating**: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

**Summary**: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

**Warning**: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

_Author's Note: So I had TWO tests this week in subjects that have been kicking my butt lately, so I am quite proud of myself for getting this done. I want to thank the people who are still reading and reviewing this. I'm nowhere near finished and if you stick around there will be action. _

_On another note, someone asked me if Green Arrow was going to make an appearance in this fic. Just so that everyone is on the same page, the answer is no. Oliver hasn't made that leap yet. In my opinion, it's too soon for the character. But, there will be plenty of heroics for Ollie. They just won't include green leather._

_On a side note, I received a very nasty review not too long ago. I'm all for constructive criticism. I've been writing for a very long time and I can take it. But all this person did was tear down my work without giving any reason for why they didn't like it. I had someone else ask me why I was portraying Lex as the villain and then go on to tell me WHY they thought I shouldn't. It made sense, it was polite, and it was a damn good idea. That person actually helped me. If you don't like what I'm writing. Fine. Tell me why, give me good reasons, or keep your opinion to yourself. This is one of my pet peeves. I hate it when people are nasty for no good reason._

_Okay. Deep breath. I'm calm. Sorry about that. I just had to get it off my chest.

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Chapter 9

The room was dark and completely silent. The only illumination came from moonlight streaming through the cracks in the blinds. Holding her breath, Chloe tiptoed toward her bed, trying not to step on any of the clothes and books she knew Lois had spread out across the room. The last thing she wanted to do was wake her cousin and play twenty questions about her weekend. Oliver had suggested that she stay at his place since it was so late and so she could avoid Lois, but in the end she'd decided it was more trouble than it was worth. If she stayed the night, it would only give Lois more ammunition, which was why she was currently sneaking into her bedroom.

Careful to make as little noise as possible, Chloe slipped her duffle bag off her shoulder, setting it on the ground. She'd already changed into sweats and a ratty t-shirt in the living room so she didn't have to change. Biting her lip, she pulled the blankets back and was about to lay down when the lights flicked on.

Chloe froze.

"Seriously cuz?" Lois snapped. "Did you really think you were going to be able to sneak in here and avoid me?"

Quickly slapping an innocent look on her face, Chloe turned back to her cousin. "Lo, I just didn't want to wake you. I know you want all the juicy details, but it's late and I'm gonna be swamped at the Torch tomorrow, so I really need my sleep."

Lois glared at her. "Oh no you don't! You do not get to go spend the weekend with a billionaire hottie and get your name in the Daily Planet without telling your dear cousin all about it."

"What are you talking about?" Chloe frowned.

"The Daily Planet picked up the story from Star City," Lois snapped.

Chloe sank down on the bed. "Well then I guess you know everything."

For a moment, she was glad that her cousin didn't possess Clark's heat vision. She was almost sure she would have been burned to a crisp by the glare Lois was giving her. And if there was anything Lois was good at it was glaring. The only reason Chloe wasn't squirming in her seat was because she was one of the Sullivan-Lanes and was made of tougher stuff than most.

Crossing her arms, Lois stomped across the room. "I want details! You spent the whole damn weekend with him. I want to know what happened!"

Knowing that there was no way her cousin was going to leave her alone, Chloe sighed and collapsed on the bed. "We spent most of yesterday at the beach," she said tiredly. "It was a lot of fun. We just messed around and hung out. Then we went back to his place talked." She smiled fondly as she remembered all the things they'd talked about. "We stayed up the whole night. Then we just sat there. I didn't even realize that I'd fallen asleep till I woke up."

"Where'd you sleep?" The glint in Lois's eye revealed exactly what she was thinking.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "On the sofa."

"He made you sleep on the sofa!" she screeched.

"No, we just fell asleep together in the living room," Chloe whispered as she drifted off into memory.

She woke slowly to the feel of the sun on her face. Lois must have snuck in and left the window open again. With a quiet groan, she began to roll over only realize that an arm was wrapped about her waist, keeping her in place. It was only then that she remembered that she was sprawled on a couch, not lying on her bed, and that her pillow was none other than Oliver.

The gentle sensation of a kiss being placed to her neck brought her fully to wakefulness. Twisting around, she looked back at Oliver, who smiled.

"Morning," he mumbled, his voice rough with sleep.

Chloe quirked an eyebrow. "Is it still morning?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. But that's what people say when they wake up."

"Well in that case, good morning."

Grinning broadly, Oliver leaned in and captured her lips. A tingle ran through her body, all the way down to her toes. She was definitely awake after that.

"Better than an alarm clock," she murmured when he pulled away.

"Well I should hope so," Oliver teased. Reaching over her, he grabbed his cell phone off the coffee table and checked the time. "It's almost eleven. You hungry?"

Chloe nodded. "I could eat."

"Well we can have left over chinese, or I can make an omelette. Your choice."

"You're offering to cook for me?"

He rolled his eyes and planted a kiss on her nose. "Don't act so surprised. I have many hidden talents. Now what do you want to eat?"

"Omelette sounds good, but I haven't met a guy yet who can cook. Even Clark can't and his mom's amazing. Maybe it would be safer to stick with leftovers." She gazed up at him innocently through her lashes.

"That," Oliver smirked, "is a challenge. And just for that, I'm cooking."

Chloe laughed and sat up. "Chinese is fine. You don't have to do that."

"Oh yes I do," he said, shooting her a look as he stood. "Why don't you go take a shower and I'll fix breakfast."

Chloe nodded. Oliver pulled her to her feet, kissing her soundly again. Feeling slightly dizzy, she turned and headed off toward bathroom shouting over her shoulder as she did. "There better be coffee when I get out!"

He chuckled and the rich, warm sound followed her down the hall, tickling her spine.

"Earth to Chloe!" Lois shouted, waving a hand in front of her cousin's face.

Chloe blinked. "What are you shouting about, Lo?"

"What am I shout-You zoned out! You were right in the middle of telling me how you woke up this morning in billionaire boy's arms and had hot steamy sex for breakfast!"

"Lois!" Chloe bolted upright and glared at her cousin. "We did not have sex at any point this weekend and no amount of hints from you is going to make it happen any faster. We are taking this slow, for reasons that are absolutely none of your business. Ollie and I talked and got to know each other and we are officially together, but that's all you need to know."

Lois beamed. "That's all I wanted to hear.

Recognizing that she'd been played-and expertly at that-Chloe groaned and flopped back on the bed. "I can't believe I fell for that."

Laying down beside her, Lois gave her cousin an one-armed hug. "I'm happy for you Chlo. You deserve this."

"Well if you hadn't been the annoying cousin that you are, I wouldn't have had the guts to go out there," she admitted. "Which means if it wasn't for you, Oliver would probably still be in Star City and I'd been sitting in a corner somewhere moping and talking myself out of everything."

Beaming Lois pushed herself off the mattress and went back to her bed, turning off the light as she did. Chloe pulled the covers up to her chin and rolled over, already missing Oliver's solid warmth behind her.

She was almost asleep when Lois' voice issued out of the darkness.

"And while I definitely want more details about what else you did this weekend, I'm going to leave you alone because I know if I keep prying you'll never tell me anything. But tomorrow, everything is fair game."

Chloe groaned. _Oh wonderful._

* * *

The next day, Smallville High seemed more inviting and more like home than Oliver had ever seen it. He walked up the sidewalk with a spring in his step and a massive smile on his face that wasn't at all fake. People stared at him, surprised, not only that he was back, but by the dramatic change in his attitude. He didn't care if people thought he was insane. He was happy.

He was barely inside the building when he was ambushed by Veronica Morgan. She was wearing a skin tight, v-neck top and jeans that looked painted on. Her red hair was curly and wild about her face. She was smiling coyly as she latched onto his arm.

"Hey, Ollie," she purred in a sensual whisper. "I missed you last week. Where'd you go? School was soooo boring without you."

Politely, Oliver pulled his arm free and stepped back to put an appropriate amount of space between them. When he answered, his smile wasn't real any more. "I had to go home deal with some stuff."

Slinking forward, Veronica wrapped her arms around his neck. "Well, we'll just have to make up for lost time. We never did get to the fun stuff after that football game."

"No we won't," Oliver said pointedly, disentangling himself from her embrace again.

"Why not?" she asked, her lip protruding in a sexy pout.

Before he could answer, he caught sight of Chloe. She was casting an exasperated look at her cousin as they walked down the hall together. Luckily, she hadn't seen him yet.

"Ollie?" Veronica's voice was sharper than before and annoyed at the loss of his attention.

Without bothering to answer or even look at her, he walked past her, straight up to Chloe and Lois. Chloe noticed him approaching at the last second and a wide smile stretched her lips. He felt an answering smile on her face.

"Hey handsome," she greeted. "How are yo-"

His lips on hers stopped her mid-sentence. The chatter in the hall decreased significantly, but Oliver didn't care. He pulled back just an inch so he could look Chloe in the eye.

"Hi," he said softly.

"Hi," she answered dazedly.

Lois slapped his shoulder. "All right. Enough with the moon eyes. The sappiness is going to make me sick."

"Nice to see you too, Lois," Oliver smirked.

"I'm nice to see," she shot back.

"But not so nice to hear," Oliver said, without missing a beat.

Lois' eyes narrowed. "You better watch it Queen. That's my cousin you're locking lips with. And if you hurt her, I will personally see to it that no one else ever wants to date you, got it?"

"Got it," he said, without a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Good. In that case, I see Smallville. I haven't had a chance to mess with him in a while. I'm overdue. See ya later."

With one last meaningful look at Oliver, she hurried down the hall toward Clark, who was walking as fast as humanly possible in the opposite direction.

"Well that was pleasant," Oliver said, glancing down at Chloe.

She rolled her eyes. "That's Lois. And you do realize she won't be the only one, right? I'm surprised Clark hasn't said something and now that half the school's seen us together-"

"I wanted them to know," Oliver cut in. "You're my girlfriend. I don't want them to think either of us is ashamed of that. Besides," he grinned. "It had been way too long since I kissed you."

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "You kissed me last night."

"Which means it was almost eight hours between kisses." He pouted comically.

She giggled. "Well we can't let that happen again."

"Nope," he agreed, kissing her lightly. "What're your plans for the day?"

"Well, I'm mostly going to try to catch up at the Torch. I've got a few articles I should have finished over the weekend, but I was otherwise occupied..." she trailed off at the look on Oliver's face. "What?"

"Why didn't you tell me you had stuff to do?" he asked quietly.

"Because," she said, rolling her eyes, "it wasn't anything that couldn't wait until today. It just means I won't have as much time to goof off today. Now stop worrying. So I'll be at the Torch most of the day, and then I have to avoid Lois and her invasive questions. But that's it, unless some sort of meteor freak emergency comes up."

Oliver slipped an arm around her waist. "Well in that case, what do you say we meet at the Talon after school and hang out for a while?"

"Is that your way of asking me on a date?" Chloe asked, suppressing a laugh.

"No. If I was asking you on a date, I'd be much more obvious. I was just asking you to hang out."

"Well in that case, I'll meet you at the Torch after school. I tend to lose track of time when I'm at the paper, so you may have to come get me."

Oliver grinned. "That sounds like a challenge."

The bell rang and they parted reluctantly, neither one of them noticing the pale form of Lex standing in the shadows, watching the exchange with narrowed eyes and fisted hands.


	10. Chapter 10

**Title**: Twist of Fate

**Rating**: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

**Summary**: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

**Warning**: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

_Author's Note: So the last couple chapters haven't gotten many reviews, which is making me sad. Your feedback really helps me, so if you read, please review, even if you have a complaint. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up. I have two essays due next week, neither of which have I even touched, and at test right before Spring break, so that'll be taking up plenty of my time._

_On another note, someone asked what season this takes place in, and I realized that I might not have been clear. I guess, technically, this takes place in season three since Clark and Chloe are juniors. But in reality, this is AU. It doesn't take place in any specific season, but I'm using canon to give the fic more life (not sure that's the right word, but it was all I could come up with). So far I've worked in elements of the first two seasons I think. It's safe to assume that, unless otherwise stated, everything that happened in season 1-3 did happen or will happen at some point in the background of the story. Hope that helps.

* * *

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Chapter 10

Lex retreated further into the shadows, class far from his mind at the sight he had seen. Oliver Queen and Chloe Sullivan. An interesting pair to be sure. Not one he'd have ever predicted even in the most twisted of worlds. Chloe Sullivan was an annoying pest, but not worth much bother. For all her attempts to nose about his father's business, she'd never gotten anywhere. She did have an uncanny ability to get herself out of trouble in one piece. That was the only thing remarkable about her. Lex never would have dreamed that she would catch Oliver Queen's eye. She was nothing like the leggy, airhead bimbos he usually associated.

But that wasn't what was bothering Lex. He knew Oliver well and he knew how he usually treated the girls he was trying to bed. The blonde was respectful to be sure, but Lex had always been able to see the detachment in his eyes. Oliver hadn't really cared about any one of the girls he'd dated before. There was nothing emotional about it. But the way he looked at Chloe. That was something different. Not only had he brushed off Veronica Morgan, one of the hottest and easiest girls in school, but the look in his eyes as he walked toward Chloe was something Lex had never seen before, not in the eyes of Oliver Queen. And he couldn't quite figure out what is was.

He watched them, completely ignoring his classes. He was surprised when Oliver actually went to the Torch and dragged Chloe out for lunch. Oliver had never been the type to actively seek out girls. They had always come to him. Yet that was exactly what he was doing. The two of them sat at a table in the far corner of the cafeteria, ignoring the stares. News of the kiss they had shared that morning in the hallway, had already spread like wildfire. Lex could tell that Chloe was slightly uncomfortable with the attention, but Oliver placed a soothing hand on the back of her neck, pulling her close and she relaxed. Minutes later, they were joined by Clark, who looked slightly uncomfortable. The three of them had a brief, but intense conversation that ended when Clark walked away, looking far more relaxed than before. Chloe was looking at Oliver in amazement. He simply smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, dropping a kiss to her forehead.

Lex ground his teeth. The sappy look on Oliver's face was ridiculous. He actually looked happy. The haunted look that had been in his eyes since the beginning was almost gone.

He spent the rest of day watching Oliver. Outwardly, little had changed. Had Lex not spent as much time as he had watching him, looking for a weakness of some kind, he wouldn't have realized what that difference was. Oliver had always been an excellent actor. It came with the territory of being so famous and having the past he did. But Lex, having a similar past, could see through the act and had always known that the the happy facade Oliver put on was just that, a facade. This, wasn't. At the beginning of their last class of the day together, Leslie Masterson, a tiny girl with mousy brown hair, acne, and braces, tripped over her own feet and plowed directly into Oliver. He had flashed her a smile and helped her gather up books. There had been nothing fake about that smile.

After school, Lex found himself wandering toward the Torch. He knew that Oliver was supposed to be picking Chloe up for a non-date and despite himself he was interested in what was going on between them. But it wasn't Oliver he saw walking into the Torch. It was Veronica. Curiosity piqued, he slipped behind the door, which had been left open, and listened with bated breath.

* * *

Chloe pulled open the drawer of the file cabinet and quickly sorted through the stack of papers she was holding, putting each in their proper place. For the first time in a long time, she was anxious to leave the Torch, not because she had research to do or was in desperate need of coffee or because the janitor was threatening to lock her in the school overnight. But because she actually had something to do. And that something just happened to be hanging out with Oliver.

Her fingers paused over the files. The day had been surreal. The kiss had been lingering in her mind all day. She'd barely gotten any work done at the Torch and most of her classes had passed in a blur. Out of habit, she'd returned to the paper for lunch only to have Oliver come and drag her out. She'd been acutely aware of all the whispers and looks they were getting, but Oliver had cracked a joke about it and told her not to worry and, to her amazement, she'd found herself relaxing.

That was when Clark had showed tension at the table had skyrocketed. Before Clark could say anything, Oliver had cut in, saying that he thought what Clark could do was amazing and that he admired that fact that he and Chloe were doing everything they could to take down the people who had similar powers and were using them to hurt others. He'd gone on to say that, if it was all right with Clark and Chloe, he wanted to help them deal with the meteor freaks. Clark had immediately relaxed, told Oliver that he'd be grateful for the help, and left. When she asked him why he was suddenly so keen on taking down meteor freaks, Oliver had simply answered that it was what she did and if it meant that it was going to land her in the hospital, he at least wanted to know what was going on.

"It's a big part of your life," he'd said. "I don't want you to feel like you need to keep this stuff from me. Now that I know these people are out there, I want to be part of taking them down."

Absolutely dumbstruck, Chloe had thrown her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly.

"Stay away from him!"

Startled, Chloe dropped the last few papers. They drifted lazily toward the floor as she spun around to face the person who spoke.

Her eyes widened when she saw Veronica. Chloe remembered all to well what it had felt like when Veronica had tried to seduce Oliver at the bonfire. The things she had said still echoed in Chloe's mind. Narrowing her eyes, Chloe crossed her arms, determined to look calmer than she felt.

"Stay away from who?" she demanded.

Veronica's eyes narrowed. "Oliver, you slut. He's mine. And some ugly little reporter who can't even get a farmboy to notice her isn't going to take him away from me!"

Chloe bit back the tears that threatened to fall. How the hell had she known about Clark? But that wasn't important right now. What was important was that she was trying to take Oliver away form her and Chloe wasn't going to let that happen. "I don't think you have any say over what happens between us."

"Which is why you are the one that's going to end it," Veronica hissed. "You're going to walk up to him and tell that this was all a mistake. You're going to tell him that you're still in love with Clark Kent. People form attachments because of trauma all the time. He'll understand."

"No," Chloe said defiantly, despite the tears that were now flowing down her cheeks. "I won't do it."

"Yes, you will." Veronica advanced on her. "Or I swear to god, I'll make your life absolute hell. You'll be such a social outcast that Oliver won't want to be anywhere near you."

Glaring through her tears, Chloe spat, "If you think a shrew like you is going to scare me into doing anything, then you haven't spent nearly enough time in Smallville."

Without warning, something connected with Chloe's cheek. Her head whipped around with the force. Clutching her cheek, she turned back to Veronica in time to see her raising her hand again. Flinching automatically, Chloe closed her eyes and braced herself for the slap she knew was coming.

Only it didn't. Opening her eyes, she looked back at Veronica only to see Oliver standing between them, clutching Veronica's wrist. Chloe couldn't see if his face, but she could see how tense he was. He was practically shaking.

"Don't even think about laying your hands on her again," he hissed. "I don't know what you thought we were, but it was nothing. We went out once. It wasn't a relationship, it wasn't anything beyond a make-out session. Now get out of here. And if I hear any rumors about Chloe..." he let the thought trail off.

Trembling with rage, Veronica snatched her hand free and stormed out of the Torch.

The minute she was gone, Oliver turned and pulled Chloe into a tight embrace. She fought back the tears of pain and humiliation that were threatening to spill down her cheeks. She didn't want him to know just how much it hard hurt to hear those things. She'd been expecting people to question their relationship. It had happened so suddenly and Oliver wasn't exactly known for making emotional connections with the girls he was seen with. Chloe had prepared herself for those questions, for people asking how the hell she'd managed to snag Oliver Queen, how she was keeping him interested. She was expecting people to think that he was just pitying her, that they'd gotten together after a traumatic experience and nothing more. But she wasn't prepared for people to throw Clark back in her face. She'd spent so long pining over him before realizing that he just wasn't the guy for her. And while those feelings were firmly in the past, it still hurt that her best friend had never seen her the way she had seen him. She really was over, but the wounds still smarted at times. And she didn't want Oliver to know that.

But he seemed to know anyway. "Are you all right?" he asked softly.

She nodded against his chest.

"Then why are you crying?"

_Crap_, Chloe thought. He wasn't supposed to know that.

When she didn't answer, Oliver pulled back slightly to get a look at her face. Her cheek was slightly red from Veronica's assault. Gently, he ran the back of his hand along the irritated skin.

"Sorry I wasn't here in time to stop that," he whispered.

Chloe shrugged. "There's not much you could have done."

"Oh really," he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, so maybe you could have done something," she admitted, "but that's not the point. Do you really think Veronica's the only one who's going to have something to say about us? You're not going to be there to stand up for me every time. It's going to be hard, but I can handle it. I know how you really feel and that's all that matters."

Oliver nodded. Reluctant to press the issue further, he pulled away until only their hands were still linked. "Why don't we head over to the Talon?" he suggested.

"I just need to grab my bag."

* * *

Lex watched in silence as the two blondes exited the room, their hands entwined. That had most certainly been an enlightening exchanged. The look on Oliver's face when he'd entered the Torch and seen what was going had been spoken plainly. He was head over heals falling for Chloe Sullivan.

Angrily, Lex punched the wall, bruising his knuckles in the process. How was it fair that a juvenile bully like Oliver Queen would find that kind of happiness? Because that's what he was. Happy. Lex had only been watching him all day and it was more than clear. Oliver was genuinely happy, something Lex had never experienced. The mere thought that the person who had tormented him for so long could actually find that kind of connection made Lex's blood boil. Because of Oliver, he had lost his only friend and become more of an outcast than ever. Sure he'd learned to use the power that came with the Luthor name, but Oliver and people like him and made sure the Lex would never be part of the in crowd. They'd ruined his life.

Well, it was just time that he ruined Oliver's in return. Turnabout was fair play after all.

Lex wandered outside, deep in thought. As he walked out the doors, he caught sight of Veronica, glaring furiously at nothing in particular. His lips curled up in a cruel smile. He doubted the Veronica had ever really been emotionally invested in Oliver. It was more a status thing than anything else. She was just upset that he'd chosen Chloe over her. But that gave Lex the perfect advantage. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned after all. And if you could direct that fury, then you had a weapon like no other. A weapon Lex fully intended to use on Oliver Queen.

* * *

_*Edit: Apparently I switched Veronica for Victoria through most of this chapter. Not sure what my brain was thinking. I think I fixed it. If you find Victoria anywhere let me know so I fix it. Sorry for the confusion._


	11. Chapter 11

**Title**: Twist of Fate

**Rating**: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

**Summary**: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

**Warning**: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

* * *

Chapter 11

The sound of laughter drifted out of the living room, overriding the sounds of the movie they were supposed to be watching. Clark leaned against the counter, watching the popcorn carefully to make sure that it didn't burn.

He still couldn't quite believe how everything had changed since October. Chloe had always been his best friend and he'd always wanted the best for her. Unfortunately, he'd been totally oblivious to the fact that for the longest time she'd wanted him.

For Clark, Chloe had always been his best friend, the person he turned to when things got weird and complicated, even before she managed to figure out his secret. All it had taken was one too many super-saves and she put the pieces together like a kiddie puzzle. It had never occurred to him to think of her as something more. And frankly, he was glad of that. After everything that had gone wrong with Lana, he was beginning to think that he just wasn't cut out for relationships. He'd found out about Chloe's feelings the same time that she managed to get over him, thanks to Lois and her big mouth. Chloe never had explained what exactly had happened and Clark doubted that she ever would. But he'd felt horrible for never seeing it and had wanted nothing more than for Chloe to find someone who appreciated her, especially after all the psychotic meteor freaks she'd fallen for.

But if someone had suggested when Oliver Queen first transferred to Smallville High that he and Chloe would not only start dating but would actually fall for each other, Clark would have laughed in their faces and asked if they'd been exposed to meteor rock lately. He'd seen enough of the playboy rich kid to know that he was nowhere near what Chloe needed. Boy had he been wrong.

Chuckling quietly to himself, Clark pulled open the popcorn and dumped it in a bowl before sticking another bag in the microwave. He'd been pretty freaked by the thought that Oliver knew his secret, even if he had agreed to let Chloe tell him. He'd been pretty confident that the other man would keep his alien origins secret, but that hadn't meant that Clark was wholly comfortable with it. But Chloe had had her life complicated by his secret and the effects of the meteor rock one too many times and he'd seen the way Oliver looked at her while she was unconscious and the crestfallen expression on her face when she found out he wasn't there. It had been enough to make Clark give him the benefit of the doubt.

What he'd truly never expected was for Oliver to go out of his way to assure him that his secret was safe. When he'd offered to help deal with the meteor freaks, Clark had been dumbfounded.

That had been the beginning of something Clark could never have predicted. Though he'd never admit it, even under the effects of meteor rock, he'd been worried that Chloe and Oliver's relationship wouldn't last. It wasn't that he doubted their feelings. Even he could see that they were head over heals for each other. But they barely knew each other and their feelings had come to be in less than ideal circumstances and he had worried that eventually the attraction would just disappear.

It hadn't.

Clark had had a front row seat to their budding romance. Chloe had always been a bit of workaholic, often spending lunch and copious amounts of after school time in the Torch. Oliver had quickly taken to dragging her to the cafeteria for food and if she was still in the Torch at four-thirty, he either sat in there with her if she was in the middle of something, or dragged her home if she wasn't. True to his word, he started helping with the usual Smallville meteor freak emergencies. At first, he'd stuck to helping with the research. But when Pete moved away just before Christmas break, he'd taken a more active roll, actually accompanying Chloe and Clark when they went snooping. He'd even landed himself in the hospital a few times alongside Chloe when they got on the wrong side of one of the meteor freaks. Oliver had taken his secret in stride and had actually become Clark's closest friends.

Being around Chloe had changed Oliver a lot. He was more open than before. Clark watched him interacting with other people, and the hesitancy and guardedness that had been there when he first moved to Smallville was completely gone. The careless playboy had been completely abandoned and in his place was a person with a genuinely good and courageous heart.

Chloe had changed too. She wasn't as absorbed in the Torch and actually had fun every once in a while. Clark actually saw more of her now that she was with Oliver than when she'd been single. She laughed and she smiled more.

Grabbing the popcorn, Clark headed into the living room. He paused at the door and absorbed the scene in front of him. It was the perfect example of how things had changed and just how far his two friends had fallen for each other.

Oliver had done the impossible when he befriended Lois. The two of them had fallen into an antagonistic and sarcastic relationship that somehow worked for them. It hadn't been long after that the group had settled on a weekly movie night. Every week, someone picked a movie and they all met up to hang out. Currently, the movie was being ignored while Lois and Oliver traded their usual goodnatured acerbic barbs. Lois was curled up in the armchair while Chloe and Oliver occupied one end of the couch. Oliver was leaning against the arm of the sofa at a slight angle so that he was facing the TV and was currently looking over his shoulder to talk to Lois. Chloe was leaned against him, stretched out along the couch. Her head was resting on his chest, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Though her eyes were fixed on the TV, Clark could tell from the quirk of her lips that she was actually listening to her cousin and her boyfriend argue. It was very entertaining. Oliver had one arm draped possessively across Chloe's stomach, their finger entwined.

The whole scene was completely innocent if you didn't know Chloe and Oliver. She had never been the touchy-feely type. It taken years before she'd gotten comfortable enough with Clark to hug him on a regular basis. Despite his playboy image, Oliver was very much the same way. Clark had noticed that with other girls Oliver was outwardly affectionate, but there'd always been a stiffness and a reservation behind it. That wasn't there with Chloe. They almost always had an arm wrapped around each other.

And it wasn't just that. They got each other on a level that Clark never could. He'd never even understood Lana that way. Half the time, Chloe and Oliver seemed to know what each other were thinking.

"Smallville!" Lois called, breaking through Clark's thoughts. "You just gonna stand there all day?"

"If it means watching you two argue, then yes," he said smirking.

"We aren't arguing," she pouted. "We're having a discussion."

Chloe chuckled. "You're arguing."

"Hey," Oliver protested, poking her ribs. "Whose side are you on?"

"Whichever side I chose to be on," she said with a grin.

"You wound me woman," Oliver pouted.

She frowned. "Don't call me that."

He just smirked.

Grinning, Clark placed the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and sat in the other chair.

* * *

Across the room, Lois was trying not to look at the way the muscles rippled under Clark's shirt as he lowered himself onto the chair. No, she wasn't at all attracted to the farmboy muscles or his geeky ways.

She tore her eyes away before Clark could notice (not that there was anything to notice anyway) and instead focused on her cousin and her current boy toy. Of course, she could have watched the movie, but Chloe and Oliver were way more interesting.

Those two are just too cute for their own good, she thought to herself, suppressing a smile at the sight of the two of them curled up at the end of the couch. Now they were focused on the movie. Chloe was absentmindedly caressing the arm that Oliver had wrapped around her waist. She'd shifted slightly so that she was more laying against him than sitting beside him and leaning against him as she had before. Oliver didn't seem to mind. In fact, as Lois watched out of the corner of her eye, she saw him tug her cousin closer.

She cocked her head slightly and turned back to the TV before anyone could notice her scrutiny.

Chloe had definitely lucked out in the boyfriend department and Lois couldn't help but be the slightest bit jealous of her baby cuz. She had always been more the bang 'em and leave 'em type herself. She'd never really had the connection it was so obvious Chloe had with the billionaire boy wonder. For crying out loud, they even finished each other's sentences every once in while.

To be perfectly honest-and if anyone suggested this to Lois she would punch them in the face because it soo wasn't true-she was just the slightest bit jealous of Oliver, too. He'd somehow become part of the three musketeers that had once been Chloe, Pete, and Clark, especially once Pete had moved. Lois knew that there was a ton of stuff that her cousin didn't tell her. If Chloe thought she was completely oblivious to the crazy ass things that happened in Smallville, then she wasn't as smart as Lois thought she was, which might explain why she seemed to think that her beloved and very observant cousin had no idea that Chloe was somehow right in the middle of all the weirdness. Fact was, Lois was acutely aware that her cousin was a weird magnet. Seriously, how many times had she ended up in the hospital since freshman year?

And Oliver was part of that in a way that Lois wasn't. She supposed that Chloe was trying to protect her and that after being abducted, Oliver had been inducted into the danger magnet club. He was part of Chloe's life that Lois wasn't.

Which honestly is just proof of how twitter-pated Chloe is, Lois chuckled to herself. I've been living with her for what, a year and a half, and she still doesn't trust me that much? Not that I blame her, she admitted. I get in enough trouble without painting a meteor rock target on my back.

A pillow suddenly sailed across the room, effectively breaking Lois out of her thoughts when it whacked her full in the face. She turned and glared at the grinning blonde that was her blood.

"What the hell was that for?"

Chloe shrugged innocently. "You looked way too serious. I thought I should do something before you burst a vein thinking so hard."

Lois' eyes narrowed. "Are you implying that I don't usually think?"

"Who me? After the battle of wits you and Ollie just had? I would never even consider suggesting that your brain is usually three miles behind your mouth."

Clark suppressed a laugh. Without even bothering to look, Lois chucked the pillow at him then turned back to the movie. She'd always known that Chloe had inherited the Lane tendency to be sarcastic and snarky, but until she'd met Oliver, she'd never been one to just start a battle of the snark. Start one with her and she'd gladly finish it, but that was different. And Lois had watched on more than one occasion as Chloe, Clark, and Pete had traded witty banter (well not so much Clark, but he got the occasional semi-clever remark in once in a blue moon). Oliver had brought the mischievous, much repressed Lane side of Chloe out. Lois had seen it just the week before when, once again, Veronica Morgan (the very definition of jealous bimbo) had confronted Chloe.

* * *

_Lois was late and she knew it. She was supposed to be meeting Chloe and Oliver for coffee at the Talon, but she might have gotten caught up making out with some hot guy from the football team._

_Huffing and puffing, she hurried up to the front door of the Talon. She was still a couple of shops down when she saw Veronica head into the coffee shop._

_"What the hell does she want?" Lois whispered._

_The bimbo bitch had been giving Chloe problems from the beginning. Lois knew what had happened that first day she and Oliver were publicly together. Chloe hadn't told her, but when the hottest, most popular girl in school was not only rejected but threatened by the new hot guy that every one was drooling over all because of someone who was both unpopular and (according to most people, but not Lois of course) slightly weird, the gossip spread fast. For weeks afterward, Veronica had bombarded Chloe with snide comments about how she would never keep Oliver, that he was going to leave her for someone more his type. Of course, she'd been careful to say all those things when Oliver wasn't around._

_But when her tactics hadn't worked and Chloe and Oliver were still together (and probably more into each other than before if you asked Lois, which no one did), Veronica had moved on, setting her sights on someone else. Lois had been more than a bit surprised to find that she'd moved on to Lex of all people. The kid definitely didn't have Oliver's looks or charisma. But he did have this strangely disconcerting and magnetic personality. And he was rich and somehow had most of the school kowtowing to him. At first Lois had assumed the Victoria had gone for him to make Oliver jealous and angry. Everyone knew that there was some sort of rivalry between him and Lex. No one knew what is about, except maybe Chloe. But it was a big deal. It was clear at first that Victoria really didn't like Lex. Lois wasn't sure anyone could like that bald weirdo. But inexplicably the arrangement had turned into something more and soon it was easy to see that Veronica was actually into Lex. Lois wasn't so sure that baldy was into her, but it didn't seem to matter. Since then, Veronica had pretty much left Chloe alone, except for a few hateful glares._

_Eyes narrowed, Lois tiptoed closer to the door and slipped inside, careful not to draw attention to herself, which was almost impossible for Lois to do._

_Chloe was sitting at the usual table in the corner. She was alone, which was unusual. Oliver was almost never late. It used to annoy Lois because it made her look bad. Now she was annoyed that he wasn't there to play white knight for her cousin._

_Veronica stood in front of Chloe for almost a full five minutes before the blonde looked up and noticed._

_Chloe raised an eyebrow and set her coffee aside. "Can I help you with something?"_

_"I just wanted to know what it felt like to be Oliver's whore?" Veronica sneered._

_The slightest flicker of anger crossed Chloe's face before she answered. "Considering that of the two of us, you are the whore, I'd suggest you ask yourself that question."_

_Lois, still hidden beside the door, smirked to herself. Way to go cuz!_

_Tensing angrily, Veronica turned to leave, but before she did, she glanced back over her shoulder and hissed, "I wonder how many heiresses Oliver bangs while he's in Star City every other weekend because there's no way a nobody like you could keep him happy."_

_"And yet he's with me instead of you," Chloe said calmly. "What's that say about you?"_

_Grumbling under her breath, Veronica stormed out, narrowly missing Lois who just managed to duck behind a potted plant._

_As soon as she was gone, Lois slipped out from behind the plant and made her way over to her cousin, who was sitting back calmly, as though nothing had happened. She looked up with a grin when Lois plopped down beside her._

_"Hey Lo," Chloe said. "Are you ever on time for anything?"_

_"Well, I would have been closer to on time if I hadn't seen little miss bimbo walk in!" Lois' face softened slightly. "You all right?"_

_Chloe rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. She's just desperate."_

_"I thought she was with baldy." Lois flagged down a serving girl as she spoke and ordered her coffee before going on. "Shouldn't she be over the fact that you got Oliver and she didn't?"_

_"She is," Chloe chucked. "Now she just trying to get to Oliver through me. You know Lex hates him, and I'm pretty sure she's infatuated with our resident billionaire."_

_"What's that make me?" Oliver asked, raising an eyebrow._

_"Our commuting billionaire," Chloe answered, her face lighting up slightly. "How long have you been standing there?"_

_"Not long," he shrugged. "Just enough to hear that Veronica was on to you again. How bad was it?"_

_"Not bad," Chloe said noncommittally._

_Lois grinned. "It was actually pretty awesome. Chloe totally put that bimbo in her place."_

_"Really?" Oliver looked impressed._

_"What can I say? I've been spending way too much time with Lois."_

_"Yeah right," Lois scoffed. "If that had been the case, you'd have been standing up for yourself a long time ago cuz. I think blondie's rubbing off on ya."_

_"Blondie?" Chloe deadpanned._

_Oliver laughed lightly. "Glad you think I'm such a good influence."_

_"I didn't say that," Lois snarked._

_"Really? Cuz I could have sworn-"_

_"You corrupted my sweet, innocent baby cousin. I should be making you pay for that."_

_"Oh please," Chloe scoffed. "You've corrupted me way more than Ollie."_

_"Defending my honor?" Oliver murmured in a low voice, scooting his chair closer to hers._

_"No," she said simply. "One-upping my cousin. You just happen to have gotten a few benefits in the process."_

_Harrumphing, Lois crossed her arms._

_"You wound me," he said dramatically, clutching his chest._

_She patted his arm. "You'll get over it."_

_"Sure," he chuckled, kissing her cheek._

_The tiniest bit of color touched Chloe's face as she leaned into him, turning into the kiss so that their lips touched._

_Lois fought the urge to gag or make a rude comment about the fact that she was being ignored._

Oh, who am I kidding_, she asked herself. "Oy! Love birds. Break it up! We're in public and people eat here. If you start having sex on the table, you're going to get us thrown out and you're going to scar me for life, which is saying something."

* * *

_

Lois spared another glance at the couple in question. They had shifted even closer, if that was possible. They were practically laying across the couch and Chloe looked about ready to fall asleep. It had been a long time since Lois had seen her cousin that comfortable with someone she hadn't known for less than six years. Lois just hoped that something didn't happen to screw it up.

* * *

The mansion was cold and empty, despite the people who lived there, but that had never bothered Lex. He was used to it.

A hand trailed across his shoulders. He turned and saw Veronica standing behind him. She was dressed as provocatively as usual, a skin tight dress showing off all her assets. He smirked and pulled her closer, kissing her possessively. A faint sense of triumph washed through him at the thought that he'd completely won her over. It had taken months of hard work. He'd been well aware of the fact that when they first got together she was just trying to make Oliver jealous. He hadn't minded one bit. She was a means to an end and nothing more.

As soon as he realized that Veronica's feelings had begun to cease to be fake, Lex had started dropping hints and commenting more frequently on why he and Oliver hated each other so much. Once it was clear that she really had fallen for him, he told her stories of the horrible things that Oliver had done when they were at Excelsior, careful to omit his own part in the stories, of course.

When he'd heard that Veronica had stormed into the Talon and confronted Chloe the same day that he'd told her the story about Duncan, Lex had almost leapt for joy. But of course, he didn't do that. Instead, he'd simply smiled grimly, and said, "It's time."

Lex pulled way from the kiss and turned back to the window, gazing moodily out the window, his body tense. It was all an act. But Veronica wasn't to know that.

"What's wrong, baby?" she asked, voice low and seductive as she draped herself across his shoulders.

"Nothing," he said shortly .

Veronica sashayed around so that she was standing in front of him. "You can't lie to me, Lex. Something's bothering you. Is it Oliver again?"

He didn't answer and refused to meet her gaze. That was all the answer she needed.

She frowned. "What did he do this time?"

"Nothing specific," Lex said evasively.

"You can tell me anything' Veronica said in a whisper.

"It's just...it doesn't seem right that after everything he's done, he should be so happy. Everyone loves him, just because he flashes them a smile. No one cares about the things he's done."

"You're right," Veronica agreed. "It's not fair."

"And did he have to get together with that nosey wannabe reporter?" Lex ranted. "She's supposed to be all about the truth, but when it comes to him it's like it doesn't matter. Sometimes, I just wish there was a way to ruin his life the way he ruined mine, that I could take away the person he cares the most about."

"I know," she said soothingly, placing a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

Lex smiled weakly. "I'm sorry. We're supposed to be enjoying out time together, not listening to me whine about Oliver. What do you want to do?"

"Actually" Veronica bit her lip, "I can't stay, I have something I need to take care of. I'll see you later?"

He watched her go, a grim smile playing across his lips, reveling in his triumph. Soon, Oliver would suffer the same kind of loss he had. Lex could almost envision the look on his enemy's face when Chloe walked away from him. It would be too easy for Veronica to tear them apart.

Lex was so absorbed in his daydreams, he never noticed the way Veronica's eyes glowed as she rounded the corner.

* * *

_Author's Note: Things are definitely heating up. Read and review to find out what happens next. (Yes, I am shamelessly begging for reviews. Not afraid to admit it.)_

_It also came to my attention that there was a slight translation in posting this here versus on LJ. The intro on the first chapter says that Chloe is a sophomore and Oliver is a junior. It should be the Chloe is a junior and he is a senior. That should now be fixed, but just in case. _


	12. Chapter 12

**Title**: Twist of Fate

**Rating**: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

**Summary**: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

**Warning**: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

* * *

Chapter 12

It had been almost a month since Lex had mentioned his desire to see Oliver suffer. But Veronica hadn't forgotten. No, she'd studied her enemy, looking for the one thing that would make Chloe leave Oliver and break his heart in the process.

Veronica had quickly discovered that, despite her earlier insecurities, spreading rumors of Oliver's supposed infidelity when he was in Star City or reminding her of the other women he'd dated, wasn't going to be enough to make Chloe leave him. Oliver had done an excellent job of proving himself. No matter. It had only taken a few short weeks to figure out what Chloe's Achilles heel was when it came to their relationship.

It had been a stroke of luck really. Oliver had gotten hurt after being attacked by one of the many special people that seemed to live in Smallville. He'd been in the hospital for several hours getting cuts and bruises tended to, before it was decided that he would remain overnight for observation. It hadn't been that bad really. But Chloe had fretted over him like some old mother hen. Curious, Veronica had done a little eavesdropping.

Chloe was sitting beside Oliver's bed. He was asleep and Chloe was close to being the same. But every time her head dropped, falling from her hand, she started, and sat up with a jerk, determined to stay awake. The sixth time it happened, she started so violently the chair shifted slightly, squeaking against the tiles, waking Oliver.

He sighed at the sight of his girlfriend. "Go home, Chloe," he said gently. "I'm fine. The maniac is in Belle Reeve and you look exhausted."

"I'm not leaving." Chloe stifled a yawn as she spoke.

"Seriously, as awesome as it is that you'd sit by my bedside you need to get some sleep and we both know you won't get any in that chair."

"I'll be fine," Chloe said stubbornly.

Oliver pursed his lips and pushed himself up, grunting slightly as the movement pulled at his bruised ribs.

"You shouldn't be doing that," Chloe admonished.

"Just like you shouldn't be worrying so much," Oliver snapped. "Or blaming yourself. We have this conversation every time I get hurt. I knew what I was getting into when we started going out. And don't forget, I'm the one that volunteered to help you and Clark track down the freaks."

"Because you wanted to be part of my life," she interjected miserably. "And of the two of us, I'm the one that attracts the homicidal weirdos. The only reason you got hurt is because you were trying to help me."

"Chloe, I made that choice." He reached over and took her hand. "It's not your fault. If you want to blame anyone, blame the guy that threw me into a wall, again. Living is Smallville is dangerous and you know that. Being around you doesn't change that."

"Yeah, but-"

"I don't want to hear it! Chloe, because of you, I'm not out there being an idiot, doing stupid stuff just to feel something. I'm not out there picking fights and throwing my life away. I got hurt more often when I was still at Excelsior. Believe me, you're keeping me out of trouble."

She scowled at him. "Says the man in a hospital bed."

"Chloe," he groaned. "It's not that bad. They only reason they're keeping me is because I might have a concussion and because you were freaking out. If you hadn't forced Clark to bring me here, we could be at my place, watching a movie and having a quiet evening together."

"I'd rather spend the night uncomfortable and know that you will make up in the morning, than cuddle on the couch and find out that you did have a concussion and something happened during night."

"You are paranoid," Oliver chuckled. "But it's one of the many things that I like about you, so I'm not really complaining. But if you don't stop blaming yourself for all of this," he gestured at himself and the bruises that were visible on his arms, "I'm not going to speak to you for a week."

Chloe sighed. She knew she was being ridiculous, but she couldn't help feel guilty. Mustering a small smile, she nodded. "All right."

"Good," Oliver said. He patted the bed beside him. "Now get up here. I'm injured and my girlfriend is too far away."

Giggling lightly, Chloe sat on the bed beside him and gently laid down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder, careful of the many bruises he'd received. Oliver huffed in annoyance at the good two inches between their bodies and pulled her closer, so that they were pressed together. Chloe raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

Outside, Veronica smirked viciously. So that was her weakness. Veronica had always known that Chloe had an uncanny ability to get involved in the strange things that happened in Smallville and that she was fiercely protective of her friends. It only mades sense that when Oliver got caught in the cross fire, she would feel guilty. That was definitely something Veronica could use. And she had just the plan.

* * *

Sighing heavily, Chloe trudged down the steps of Smallville High. It was late on the Friday before Spring Break. Everyone else had been gone the absolute instant the bell rang. But not her. Mysterious fires had been creeping up around Smallville for the past couple of weeks, ever since Oliver had gotten out of the hospital the last time they'd dealt with a meteor freak. They weren't anything to worry about for the most part. No one had gotten hurt and very little damage had been done to property and crops. The weather had been unseasonably dry and hot. Everyone seemed to think that the fires were just accidents.

The only problem was, Chloe was not everyone. Something was off. She just knew it in the pit of her stomach. It was the same feeling she got whenever she was on the trail of a meteor freak. When she'd confronted Clark a week ago, he'd agreed and so they two of them had been looking into it. Oliver was usually the one that helped her with the research while Clark went and tracked down leads since he was the indestructible one of the group, but with Ollie back in Star City for an early Spring Break, learning how to run his company, Clark had been forced to take a less active roll until they found something. He was currently investigating what they thought might be the sight of the next fire, which left Chloe to haul all of the research to her car and get it to his loft.

She dumped the stack of papers and files in the back seat of her car and slid into the driver's seat. She was exhausted. That last cup of coffee was definitely wearing off. She was going to have to stop by the Talon and stock up for the night. They were no closer to figuring out what was going on than when they had started a week ago and it was driving her crazy.

As she pulled out of the school parking lot, her phone went off. Sighing, she dug it out of her purse and answered it without bothering to check the caller ID.

"Chloe Sullivan," she said tiredly, trying to keep the exhaustion and annoyance out of her voice.

"Well that's certainly not the greeting I was expecting."

At the sound of Oliver's voice, Chloe felt all the tension and frustration begin to leak out of her body. "Sorry. It's been a really long day."

"The fires still giving you trouble?" he asked. Even though he was out of town, Chloe and Clark had been careful to keep him in the loop. He got annoyed when they didn't.

"Yep," she groused. "There's no discernible pattern, there are no connections at all between the times, the locations, anything. The fires are completely random. I'm beginning to think that maybe the police are right and they are just freak accidents."

Oliver laughed once. "Yeah right. You don't really believe that. You're just frustrated."

"You know me way too well."

"Is that really a bad thing?"

"Depends on your point of view." She smirked slightly, imagining the indignant look that was sure to be on his face.

"What about from a girlfriend-boyfriend point of view?"

"Well, in that case, it's probably a really good thing you know me so well. I'd be worried if you were dating someone you barely know."

"I find myself compelled to point out that when we started going out, I barely knew you," Oliver said, sounding just the slightest bit smug. "But I have since remedied that. And just to prove how well I know you, oh girlfriend of mine, I picked up your favorite coffee."

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "How does that help me since said coffee is currently in Star City with my absent boyfriend?"

"Because the coffee is actually in Clark's barn with your not-so-absent boyfriend."

She nearly dropped the phone. "You're back!"

"Yep." Now she knew he was smirking arrogantly (in that annoying and sexy as hell way he always did when pulled the wool over her eyes.) "Have been for about an hour. Clark told me you were at the Torch researching. I figured you'd be heading over here soon and that you'd need a caffeine fix."

"Why didn't you come up to the Torch?"

"Excuse me if I didn't want to spend the night making up for lost time with my girlfriend while in the school newspaper," he scoffed.

"So you want to make up for lost time in Clark's loft?"

There was a slight pause. Then the speaker crackled explosively as Oliver sighed. "Damn it. I didn't think of that. Is it too late to meet you at my place?"

"I just pulled into the Kent's driveway, so I'd go with yeah." Chloe parked and pulled the keys out of the ignition. "Come give me a hand with these papers and then we can have a proper reunion before Clark get's back."

No answer. Chloe pulled the phone away from her ear. The call had been ended. It was possible that the call had been dropped. Service wasn't exactly reliable on the farm. Then Oliver appeared at the back door and she realized that he'd hung up to come meet her.

"Way ahead of you," he said with a grin, hauling the massive stack of papers into his arms. "What did you do? Print out the entire library of Congress?"

"Just the section of spontaneous combustion and pyro-kinesis."

He looked down at her over the papers, raising an eyebrow. "Pyro-what?"

"The ability to control fire with your thoughts."

"Right. Hey do you think make a Meteor Freaks for Dummies manual?"

Chloe laughed. "I doubt it, but maybe we can write one."

Dropping the papers on Clark's already cluttered desk, Oliver turned to face his girlfriend. Two weeks in Star City listening to a bunch of guys argue over a contract had nearly driven him insane. He understood the necessity of learning how this company worked, especially since he was going to have to run it after high school, but that didn't change how boring it was. Or the fact that it was so obvious that the majority of the board didn't think he was capable of running the company. Which honestly just made him want to prove them wrong, but it didn't make it any easier to sit there and listen to them. There had been a reason he'd called Chloe very night. Now that she was standing in front of him again, Oliver found himself wondering what he'd done to deserve someone like Chloe. He'd been throwing his life away before, he'd been numb and empty. He didn't feel that way anymore and it was because of her. He doubted that she would ever realize just what she had done for him.

Chloe was completely unaware of the speculative and adoring look Oliver was sending her way. She was bent over some of the papers that Clark had left spread out across the couch. He'd mentioned before super-speeding away that he had a few things back at the farm that might be useful.

Arms wrapped around Chloe's waist from behind and she felt herself pulled back against Oliver's chest. He pressed his lips to the crook of her neck. Her head lolled to the side automatically.

"Do you have any idea how much I missed you?" he murmured against her skin.

Chloe smirked. "I think I can guess. Lois and Clark have been driving me crazy!"

"Those two still denying the obvious?"

"Definitely."

He pulled her around so that they were facing each other. "Personally, I would rather be stuck in a room while the sexual tension between those two increases than stuck in a boardroom with a bunch of stuck men who think I don't know my head from my ass."

"But you wouldn't if it weren't for me," Chloe said, her smirk growing more pronounced.

Instead of snarking back, Oliver smiled softly, sliding a hand into her hair. He leaned down slowly and gently pressed his lips to hers in a soft, but searing kiss that lit her entire body on fire. "You're not wrong," he whispered, pulling back.

"How sweet. Look at the little lovebirds."

Starting, Oliver and Chloe turned to the source of the interruption, he automatically pushing her slightly behind him for protection.

Veronica Morgan stood at the top of the stairs. Her arms were crossed and her hips was cocked. Her usually perfectly curled hair was pulled back in a severe ponytail and she was dressed all in black with an electric blue sash about her waist.

"You get lost on the way to a costume party?" Oliver growled.

A twisted smile pulled at Veronica's lips. "No. I'm exactly where I meant to be. Though I must say, I thought I'd find him here alone."

Oliver bristled at her comment and only the restraining hand Chloe laid on his arm kept him from advancing on the other girl.

"Not that it changes anything," Veronica continued, ignoring the glare of almost feral anger he sent her direction. "This just makes it interesting. Like I said, this is where I was hoping to end up tonight."

"Then you must be confused," Chloe snapped, hoping that she was imagining the innuendo in the vicious words she'd just heard. "You're not welcome here. I suggest you leave the way you came."

Veronica idly raised a hand as though inspecting her nails. "But I'm not ready to leave yet. I have such big plans for you two and I've been waiting so long to play. You're not going to deny me that, are you?"

Her eyes flashed. Before either of them could reply, Veronica extended her hand. Crackling arcs of glimmering electricity gathered around her finger tips.

"What the hell?" Oliver hissed.

A bolt of electricity shot across the barn, hitting him square in the chest. He was thrown back, taking Chloe with him. She cried out when her back hit the railing of the loft. Oliver fell to the ground, convulsing in pain.

Veronica laughed. "Well that was fun. Let's do it again."

Once more, she pointed her hand at Oliver. A net of electrical energy wrapped around him, lifting him from the floor. The smell of burning hair and fabric filled the barn. Chloe struggled to her feet, but pain shot across her back. With an almost lazy movement, Veronica moved the net and Oliver, dropping him over the edge of the loft. He fell onto a pile of boards and pipes that Kents kept for repairs.

At the sound of the loud crash, Veronica laughed maniacally. Chloe took advantage of her distraction and threw one of Clark's heavy books on the Kawatche caves at her head. The projectile hit its mark and the other girl hit the ground hard, unconscious. Ignoring the pain still knifing through her back, Chloe raced past her, down the stairs, shouting as did.

"CLARK!"

Oliver wasn't moving. A line of blood trickled down the side of his head. He was half buried under debris. Frantically, she pushed as much off of him as she could, until she reached a particularly large post that was used to repair the fences. If she hadn't been hurt, she might have had a chance, but not in her current state. Frantically, she pressed a hand to the side of Oliver's face and grasped his shoulder, shaking him gently.

"Come on," she whispered. "Wake up. Before she does!"

A quiet groan escaped his lips and he opened his eyes, looking up at her blearily.

"Are you all right? Can you move?" Chloe asked frantically.

Grimacing, Oliver nodded. "I feel like I've been stuck in an oven and run over by a horse, but I'll live. My legs are pinned."

"I couldn't move the beam."

Shifting slightly, Oliver managed to get his hands beneath the beam and pushed. It moved only barely. Pausing to catch his breath, he tried again. Without warning, the beam slid and the boards Chloe had managed to shift of the way fell on top of them.

"Chloe!" Oliver shouted.

She groaned. "I'm fine. But I'm pinned."

"Me too," he grunted. He pushed futilely at the debris. "It's no use. With everything else on top of it, I can't lift that beam."

"Now what?" Chloe asked, trying to keep the fear from her voice.

Oliver's hand found hers and he moved himself as close to her as he could with his leg pinned, trying to offer her some form of comfort. "Did you call Clark?"

She nodded. "But I'm not sure if her heard me. He's on the other side of Smallville and we haven't exactly done the whole can you hear me now thing. I have no idea how sensitive his hearing is." She sighed and looked away from Oliver. "This is all my fault."

"You telling me you put a hit out on me?" Oliver joked. When the glum expression didn't leave her face he sobered up. "All right that was a bad joke. But how is this your fault or are you once again blaming yourself for the meteor freak attack."

Her silence was all the answer he needed.

"Dammit Chloe," he hissed, startling her with his anger. "Stop blaming yourself for all of this. Veronica probably would have done this if I'd ended up in a serious relationship with anyone other than her. It's not your fault. And it's not your fault that this," he glanced up at the boards pinning them to the ground, "happened."

"Oliver she played us," Chloe said tiredly. "She started the fires knowing that we'd look into it. She watched us and figured out when we'd be vulnerable. And she wasn't even after me. She was after you."

"Bravo," Veronica sneered.

Chloe turned as best she could with a heavy bar across her chest and saw Veronica, a livid bruise painting her forehead. Beside her, Chloe could feel Oliver struggling against the weight that pinned him down, desperate to do something to fight the homicidal maniac that was trying to kill them.

"Don't bother," Veronica hissed, raising her hand as her eyes glowed more brightly than before. "Even if you did manage to get free, my next shot would be enough to burn you to a crisp."

Oliver stilled, but Chloe could feel the rage emanating from him in waves.

The light in Veronica's eyes dimmed slightly, but she didn't lower her hand and her gazed fixed on Chloe. "I'm impressed that you caught onto my scheme so quickly. I thought I'd have to actually do some real damage, maybe even hurt someone to get your attention. Maybe I'm not the only one here who's been exposed to the meteor rocks," she sneered. "Are you sure you aren't psychic?"

Chloe tensed at the accusation, but said nothing. She was not a meteor freak, she couldn't be, not if it meant going loony like every other person she'd meant.

"All I wanted was to torture Oliver a little bit," Veronica said, sighing dramatically. "I saw how guilty it made you when he got hurt a few weeks ago, before he left for Star City. I knew that if he got hurt again because of your snooping, that you'd feel guilty enough to walk away. he was supposed to be unconscious so that he couldn't talk you out of it. Unfortunately, that didn't happen."

"You seriously did all of this to break us up?" Oliver growled. "What the hell do you have to accomplish by that?"

It was the wrong thing to say. Snarling angrily, Veronica advanced on them, electricity arcing across her entire body. "So that you would feel the same pain, the same loss you have inflicted on others!"

Despite the situation, Oliver looked confused. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You don't even know," she sneered. "How pathetic. Not that it matters. You'll feel that loss yet."

Though he didn't now what exactly she was referring to, Oliver could see enough to guess what she was intending. "If you lay a hand on Chloe..." he hissed.

"I don't plan to."

Chloe and Oliver both stilled at the venom in her voice. Veronica's hands glowed and ropes of electricity wrapped around Chloe's torso. With a jerk, she was pulled out from beneath the debris that had been pinning her to the ground. She cried out in pain. Oliver attempted to pull himself out along side her, but the pile of wood and pipes shifted, pinning him to the floor even more securely than before.

"Let her go!" he shouted.

"I don't think so," Veronica hissed, dangling Chloe above the floor by a tendril of electricity. "If I were you, I'd say goodbye now, because you'll never see her again."

Chloe's eyes widened with fear. She attempted to speak, but a shock ran through her body, stealing her of the ability.

"NO!" Oliver shouted as her body went limp.

"Too bad," Veronica sighed. "I guess you just weren't fast enough. Goodbye, Oliver."

The weight of the debris was painfully crushing his leg, but he still struggled desperately trying to get to Chloe. It was useless. All he could do was watch as Veronica dragged her out of the barn and out of sight.

Pushing once more at the boards, Oliver took a deep breath and shouted for Clark.

* * *

_Author's Note: So I'm leaving it up to you. Next chapter, we'll hear from Oliver, Chloe, and Lex. Who do you want to start with? Now the chapter is already written. But I'm not putting it up until I get some answers. So please read and review!_


	13. Chapter 13

**Title**: Twist of Fate

**Rating**: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

**Summary**: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

**Warning**: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

* * *

Chapter 13

Lex paced his room angrily. He was getting tired of waiting. It had been almost a month since Veronica had walked out of his mansion. He'd been sure she was going to start spreading rumors or even pursuing Oliver in an attempt to break them up. But nothing had happened. Lex had gone to a lot of trouble to make sure that he always heard the gossip in the school, no matter what that gossip was.

The past months had practically been torture. Veronica was a shallow, vindictive girl who didn't really care about anything. At the beginning, their relationship had been all about making out and putting on a show. She was talented in that area, but it wasn't enough to make up for the personality. Still, Lex had played the doting boyfriend, trying to win her trust so that he could get back at Oliver. He'd been mildly surprised when Veronica had actually started to have feelings for him, but it had worked to his advantage and he'd used it, continuing to endure her company.

But then she'd gone after Oliver and Lex had been sure that all of his hard work was paying off. He'd been sure that he wouldn't have too much time with her. And though he had spent considerably less time with her and he was sure it was because she was up to something, nothing had happened. His patience was quickly wearing thin.

Angrily, Lex punched his dresser. Time was running out. School ended in less than two months. If Veronica didn't do something soon, Lex would be forced to come up with a new plan. Once he and Oliver graduated, they'd barely see each other outside of business. He lose the chance to make Oliver pay for everything he'd done.

"And he will pay," Lex hissed. "I'll make sure of it."

He stomped over to his bed and collapsed on the mattress. "Why is it that no matter what, Oliver seems to get lucky?" he grumbled to himself. "Everyone knows that the weirdos in this town go after Chloe and I know Oliver's been caught in the crossfire more than once. How is it that he always seems to make it out relatively unscathed? That last freak should have flattened him. But no, he just gets a few bruises and when he comes back to school he gets everyone's sympathy. He could commit cold blooded murder and no one would blink an eye. It's time to end this."

The only problem was, Lex was quickly running out of options. If he tried to go after Oliver, the other man would see it coming a mile away. And anything he could do that would be under the radar enough not to alert Oliver to his plans wouldn't be good enough. Not by a long shot. If Veronica didn't come through and if he didn't come up with some kind of miraculous plan, the most Lex would be able to do was get a couple of nasty tabloid stories printed.

The sound of his phone buzzing on the dresser caught Lex's attention, pulling him out of his thoughts. He grabbed it and quickly read the text message on the screen. It was from Veronica.

_**It's only a matter of time before Oliver pays for what he did to you. Soon he'll feel pain you did. **_

Lex felt a strange, cold tingle run down his spine. As much as he wanted to get back at Oliver and ruin his life, that didn't sound right. For the first time since he'd begun the whole process off goading Veronica into ruining Oliver's relationship, he began to wonder if he hadn't taken things too far.

* * *

The tell tale whoosh of air echoed through the barn, and not a moment too soon. When Veronica pulled Chloe out form under the pile of debris, the delicate balance had been destroyed. Something had given way and for the past five minutes, the pressure on Oliver's legs and lower torso had been increasing steadily. The pain was so bad he could barely think straight. He knew he was close to blacking out and for a moment, thought he had dreamed the voice calling his name.

"Oliver!"

Speeding across the barn, Clark hurriedly pulled the boards, pipes, and other debris off his barely conscious friend. Oliver groaned quietly. Narrowing his eyes, Clark activated his x-ray vision. Luckily, it looked like Oliver's leg was just bruised, not broken and there were no internal injuries. He was just a little battered.

With the beams no longer crushing him, the pain began to lessen and Oliver's mind cleared. He sat up slowly, groaning. Clark crouched down beside him.

"What happened?"

"Veronica," Oliver hissed, gingerly rubbing his sore leg to inspect the damage.

Clark frowned, obviously confused. "What does she have to do with this? Is she spreading rumors again?"

"I wish that was all she'd done. Clark, she's the meteor freak that's been starting the fires. She can generate and control electricity. She attacked us."

"Us?" Clark repeated, wondering if Oliver was still out of it, because he wasn't making much sense.

"Me and Chloe," Oliver bit out, trying to ignore the pain beating through him.

"But Chloe's not here."

Oliver glared at Clark. "I know that! Veronica took her!"

"What?"

"She came out of nowhere and attacked us. I'm not sure why." Oliver's brow furrowed as he thought back to the confrontation. "At first I thought it was because she was still jealous and pissed off that Chloe and I are together. But then she said something about making me suffer the same pain I'd inflicted on someone else. I think she's working for someone."

"Oliver that could be anyone. I bet there are a lot of guys out there that want revenge because you did something with the girl they liked."

He glared at Clark. "But not in Smallville," he snapped. "Think about it. The person who sent Veronica after me would have to know that she was a meteor freak, would have to know about them. That narrows down the list considerably, especially since I've been with Chloe almost the entire time I've been here."

"Then who could it be?"

Oliver thought for a moment. Cold dread washed over him. "Oh, god. Lex. Veronica's been dating him for months. He's always been good at manipulating people. He's the only person who could be behind it. This is for Duncan."

"Who's Duncan and what's he got to do with this?" Clark asked in confusion.

Sighing deeply, Oliver quickly recounted the tale he'd told Chloe in front of the bonfire back in October. He'd never told Clark, not because he didn't trust him, but because he was trying to forget and move on.

"I think Lex convinced Veronica to kill Chloe to get back at me for Duncan's death," Oliver concluded. "He always blamed me. I bet he played off Veronica's jealously and obsession."

Clark shook his head. "I don't think so. Lex is the type to hold a person's abilities over their heads. I don't think he'd play Veronica like that if he didn't have to."

"So you're saying she just went psycho on her own?" Oliver's angry voice echoed through the barn.

"No," Clark said calmly. "I mean, that's probably part of what happened, but not all of it. Look, when Lex first moved here three years ago, there was an accident. He and his driver were on their way back from school and they hit something as they were crossing the bridge. The car drove off into the water, hitting me in the process. Dad and I told them I jumped in after them. The driver died on impact, but I was able to pull the roof of the car off and pull Lex out. The only problem was, he was still just barely conscious. When he came round, he started asking questions. Everyone, the paramedics, Lionel, me, my dad, told him that he had just seen things because of the lack of oxygen. For weeks, he followed me around, trying to find out about my powers. Every time he thought he had something on me, he tried to use it to get me to do whatever he wanted. The only thing was, he never had solid proof. If Lex found out the Veronica had powers, he'd do the same thing to her. He'd have forced her into this if his intent was to kill Chloe."

"That sounds like Lex," Oliver admitted, rubbing his temples. Now that the pain in his legs and torso had faded to a slow throb, he was able to think more clearly. "So you think he was just trying to break us up?"

"Basically," Clark shrugged. "Think about how happy being together has made you. As long as you were still alone and in pain Lex was more or less content. Now he's suffering and you're not and if you're right and he still blames you for what happened with Duncan, than that's probably made him really angry."

Oliver groaned. "Yep. That definitely sounds like Lex. It also explains why Veronica is with him. She was the one person who was really pissed off that Chloe and I got together. Not only did he give her the satisfaction of dating my arch-nemesis (Clark arched an eyebrow at the term, but Oliver ignored him), but he gets to fill her head with all kinds of horrible stories."

"Lex is twisted," Clark added. "But I doubt he'd been willing to actively stoop to murder. He probably wanted Veronica to spread rumors, tell stories about whatever relationship you did have, and basically pray on Chloe's self esteem."

"Only she's not just a jealous cheerleader, she's a psycho meteor freak who finally went off the deep-end," Oliver finished. "And now she has Chloe. Any ideas of where she might be?"

Clark shook his head. "No. Veronica's good. The fires are completely random. There's no evidence of a central location. She could be anywhere. Was Chloe conscious when she was taken?"

Oliver's jaw tightened at the memory. "No. Veronica shocked her. Just enough to knock her out."

"It'll take too long to search the town," Clark mumbled, beginning to pace the length of the barn. He and Oliver weren't the one that usually figured out what the freaks were up to or where they were hiding. That had always been Chloe. Without her, they were in a bit of a bind.

After several moment, Oliver's voice broke the silence. "Do you think Lex would know?"

Clark stopped pacing and looked his friend, who was still sitting on the floor. "Maybe. He knows her better than we do, so even if he doesn't actually know he could point us in the right direction. Do you think he'd tell us?"

"Maybe," Oliver said slowly. "I think you're right about him not actually wanting to kill someone. If he knows that's what's at stake, he might come clean. Even if he doesn't, questioning him could give us some sort of clue."

Running a hand through his hair, Clark thought for a moment. "All right. It's worth a shot. Can you walk?"

* * *

As Chloe made her way back to consciousness, the only thing she was aware of was pain. She could feel the bruises on her arms, legs, and torso where the debris from the Kents' barn had fallen on her. Every muscle ached from the electric shock Veronica had used to knock her out.

Veronica!

That was enough to bring Chloe fully back to wakefulness. She didn't stir or open her eyes, but her mind was completely coherent again. She was aware that she was laying on a cold stone floor. Her hands were bound in front of her. She could feel ropes chafing at her wrists. Cautiously, she cracked open her eyes and glanced around.

The small room was lit by several glowing blue orbs that were floating just below the ceiling. Chloe couldn't make out much. It looked like she was in the middle of an old warehouse, but she couldn't remember any buildings like that in Smallville, which meant she was probably in one of the abandoned factories

_This is just perfect_, Chloe grumbled to herself._ Where is the psycho anyway?_

She glanced around again, careful not to make it too obvious that she was awake. The room seemed to be empty except for her. There was a wooden chair against one wall, but Veronica was no where to be seen.

Chloe was about to push herself upright when she heard footsteps. Chancing it, she looked over her shoulder and saw for the first time the door. It was closed but the footsteps were moving closer. As the door swung open, Chloe dropped her head to the ground again, pretending to be unconscious.

The sound of Veronica's heeled boots slapping against the floor echoed through the concrete room, moving steadily closer to her. Chloe fought to keep her body limp, to give no sign that she was conscious, when the steps stopped in front of her.

Her scheme worked too well. Veronica kicked her heard in the gut. Reflexively, Chloe curled into a ball, coughing as the wind was forced from her lungs.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," the girl sneered.

Chloe coughed again. "Where are we?"

"Somewhere no one will ever find you."

_Don't bet on that_, Chloe thought angrily. _My best friend is a super-powered alien and my boyfriend is freaking stubborn. This isn't the first time I've been captured, and it won't be the last. Everyone always says no one will find me and they always do_.

Oblivious to the internal insults Chloe was directing toward her, Veronica squatted down beside Chloe and leaned closer. "I hope you realize that you're not getting out of this, You've gotten lucky before. But not this time."

Chloe glared at her defiantly. Veronica chuckled. "Well. You do have spirit, I'll give you that. It's going to be so fun to break it."

"What the hell did I ever do to you?" Chloe demanded.

The meteor freak's eyes narrowed. "You humiliated me. Oliver was supposed to be with me! We were supposed to be the school's power couple. Going to all the dances all the events. It was supposed to be perfect."

"You didn't want a relationship," Chloe snapped, blood boiling for Oliver. "You just wanted to use him. And you got that with Lex. Why can't you just be happy that Oliver's found someone to be with?"

"Because that someone isn't me," Veronica hissed. "You're right. I got Lex. But he was always second choice, no matter what I feel for him now. And he and I can never be happy as long as Oliver is happy."

Confusion rippled through Chloe and she frowned. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"He ruined Lex's life!" Veronica shouted. Her eyes crackled and electricity arced off her body. "Because of what Oliver did, Lex is completely shunned by everyone. Because of Oliver, Lex lost his only friend and has been ridiculed his entire life."

Chloe arched an eyebrow. "You mean you're doing this because of what happened with Duncan? That wasn't Oliver's fault. That wasn't anyone's fault. Lex is the one that beat Duncan to a bloody pulp. Yes, Oliver bullied them and is part of reason things got out of control. But ultimately it was an accident."

"No it wasn't," Veronica hissed. "Oliver knew exactly what he was doing. He singled Lex and Duncan out. He devoted his life to destroying them. And he succeeded. Because of him, Lex lost the one person who was willing to be his friend. Duncan was practically family! Oliver doesn't deserve to be happy. He deserves to suffer for what he did for the rest of his life!"

"I don't know who's been telling you this stuff," Chloe snapped. "But that's not true. Oliver didn't single Duncan and Lex out. He bullied a bunch of kids at Excelsior. He told me that. Hell, he pointed them out in a year book. You have no idea how guilty he feels for all of that. It still haunts him. Yes, he's happy now. But he'll never stop regretting what he did."

She had to bite her tongue to keep from pointing out that Lex and Duncan may have been friends, but Lex had never really cared about Duncan. If he had, the fallout never would have been that bad. But accusing Lex of being less than perfect definitely wasn't the smartest idea, all things considered.

"Maybe you're right," Veronica admitted, standing to her full height again. "Perhaps Oliver does regret his actions. But he will never understand what it is like to lose someone. Well," she paused and looked down at Chloe. "He will now."

Chloe's eyes widened. "That's why you took me? But you said in the barn that you were just looking for Oliver."

"I was going to torture him to within an inch of his life," she said nonchalantly. "I saw how guilty you were the last time he ended up in the hospital. I figured that if you thought it was your fault he was so badly injured you'd leave him, and beak his heart. But you were there and he talked you out of you're little panic attack. So I improvised. You'll leave him yet. It just won't be your choice."

Chloe's blood ran cold. Wordlessly, Veronica extended her hand and tendrils of electricity snaked of her fingers, wrapping around Chloe's forearms. The contact tingled, but didn't hurt her. She felt herself being lifted off the floor so that she was dangling in the air.

"What are you going to do to me?" Chloe demanded, trying to keep the fear from her voice.

Veronica cocked her head. "I haven't really thought about it. What do you think would be fitting for someone who ruined everything?"

Chloe felt her control over her temper slip. "Have you lost your mind? You're not even with Oliver! You never were! I didn't steal him from you, we just ended up together. And I say again, you're with Lex! You have got to get over it! Are you seriously willing to be a kidnapper and a murderer because you're jealous? Because your boyfriend can't let go of the past? What the hell is wrong with you?"

The other girl became deadly calm. The tendrils of electricity tightened around Chloe and the charge increased. The tingle slowly became painful until it was too much to bear. She cried out in pain and convulsed uncontrollably.

Then the pain stopped, replaced only with the tingle that it had been before. Veronica lowered her slightly so that she was closer to the floor. Veronica picked up a bar that Chloe hadn't seen. Looking Chloe in the eye, she swung the pipe.

* * *

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Clark eyed Oliver nervously. The other man was limping slightly as he paced the massive office they were waiting and was holding himself gingerly.

The only answer Oliver gave his alien friend was a glare.

Clark threw his hands up in surrender. "Forget I asked. Just do me a favor. I know you're worried. I know you're freaking out. But please try not to completely lose your temper with Lex. We're lucky he let us in. If you really want to help Chloe-"

"I know," Oliver snapped. "I know. I'll stay calm."

He looked anything but calm as he spoke and Clark suppressed the urge to roll his eyes or tie his friend to a chair. He completely understood why Oliver was freaking out. His girlfriend had been abducted by a psycho. And if Clark had to guess, he'd say that Oliver was probably remembering what had had happened the last time Chloe was captured. She'd nearly been killed.

The thought caused his hands to curl into fists. Chloe was his best friend. She'd gotten him out of more trouble than he cared to admit. And he'd saved her almost as often. But this time he had absolutely no idea what to do and it scared him.

Oliver finally stopped pacing and collapsed in a chair, grunting in pain. If he'd looked haunted and lost when he first got to Smallville, it was nothing compared to what he looked like now and Clark was tempted to lock him in the barn once they left and go find Chloe by himself. He was going to be more a hindrance than a help. Oliver would probably be angry if Clark kept him from going after Chloe, but if it got Chloe out in one piece, Clark was pretty sure Oliver would thank him.

The door swung open and Lex, calm and cool as ever, sauntered into the room. Clark tensed and Oliver immediately stood, only the tiniest flicker of pain creasing his features.

"Something I can help you with?" Lex drawled, looking completely bored.

Oliver started forward, but Clark, reading his body language and accelerated heart rate, cut him off. "We're looking for Veronica. Have you seen her?"

Lex raised an eyebrow, looking mildly interested. "Why are you looking for her?"

"She's a meteor freak," Oliver snapped, pushing past Clark.

"Watch what you say about my girlfriend, Queen," Lex snapped. "You're a guest here and I can very easily throw you out."

Oliver grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it up, revealing a livid burn in the center of his chest. "She did this to me. Zapped me in the chest with a bolt of electricity and threw me off of Clark's loft, burying me beneath a pile of boards and beams. She knocked Chloe out and dragged her off. Lex, Veronica's going to hurt her."

For a long moment, Lex didn't move. He'd been right when he thought that text was a bad sign. He'd never expected her to be a meteor freak. But he should have seen it. She'd always been erratic and quick to anger. So had he.

"Lex, please," Clark said softly, putting a hand on the other man's shoulder. "If we don't track her down, she'll kill Chloe."

Lex tensed. He was a lot of things, but not a murderer. Not yet, anyway. He didn't want to go through something like what had happened with Duncan again. He'd only wanted to make Oliver miserable, not cause of the death of someone else.

Sighing, he looked at the two men standing in front of him. Clark looked cautiously hopeful, while Oliver looked downright desperate. While the last thing Lex wanted to was help Oliver, of all people, some small part of him just couldn't do nothing when a life was at stake.

"I knew she was planning something, but I didn't know what," Lex said. "I thought she was just going to spread some rumors. I had no idea that she had meteor powers or that she was going to go this extreme. I have no idea where she might be. We didn't exactly talk that much."

"So you have no idea where she could have taken Chloe?" Clark pressed.

"I can tell you where she lives, but you probably already knew that." Lex rubbed his neck as he thought. "She mentioned something about her father owning some land on the outskirts of Smallville. If there are any buildings, that's where I'd look."

Oliver's eyes narrowed. "How do we know you're telling the truth?"

Clark shot him a look and Lex tensed, but he looked Oliver in the eye as he answered. "You and I aren't friends, Oliver. That's not a secret. But I'm not going to standby while some psycho tries to kill someone, not when I can help. So trust me or don't. I've told you everything I can. It's up to you whether you use it or not. I think you now the way out."

Spinning on his heel, Lex left the room.

"Do you think we can trust him?" Oliver asked Clark as they made their way out of the mansion.

"We don't have much choice. We need to get to the Torch and see if we can figure out what land Veronica's dad owns. It's our best lead. I don't suppose Chloe's taught you any of her tricks?"

"A few," Oliver sighed. "But I'm not nearly as good as her."

"Then we'll need as much time as possible." Clark smirked and pulled Oliver off his feet, super-speeding away before the other man could even blink.

A split second later, they were standing in the Torch. The moment Clark set him on his feet, Oliver doubled over and attempted to settle his stomach. He glared at the alien in front of him.

"Let's never do that again," he snapped. "Or at least give me some warning."

"Stop whining," Clark said impatiently. "We don't have much time."

Grumbling under his breath, Oliver moved to the computer and sat down. "Hold on, Chloe," he whispered. "We're coming."

Across the room, Clark gazed at his friend for a moment, before turning his attention to the window and focusing his hearing on the off chance that Chloe would get a chance to call for him. If she did, he'd be there for her in the blink of an eye. Chloe and Oliver would see each other again, no matter what he had to do to make sure it happened.

* * *

_Author's Note: Let it be known that I know absolutely nothing about electricity. Obviously, I'm already taking liberties seeing as Veronica has the ability to control it, but i don't know if what I'm having her do with her powers is even remotely possible. It's just cool. I also don't know much about anatomy, so the injuries I'm using are also just made up. _

_I'm on Spring Break this week, but I don't know how much writing I'll get done. My family is moving over the summer and we're desperately trying to get the house ready to go on the market, so I have no clue how much time I'll have to write. The next chapter is almost done, but still has some kinks to work out. But I'll get it up as soon as I can. _

_In the meantime, enjoy! And please, please, please review. I get awesome inspiration from reviews!_


	14. Chapter 14

**Title**: Twist of Fate

**Rating**: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

**Summary**: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

**Warning**: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

* * *

Chapter 14

Sighing angrily, Oliver rubbed a hand over his face before turning back to the computer. He was never taking Chloe's hacking skills for granted again. It had taken him forever and more screw ups than he cared to admit to hack into the county records database. And he still couldn't find the information they needed. Chloe would have been in and out in less than half the time. And time wasn't something they had a lot of.

"Anything?" Clark asked impatiently. He'd been pacing for the past twenty minutes.

Oliver shook his head. "Not yet. There's a lot of data here. It's not organized and Chloe hadn't gotten around to teaching me how to program searches. I'm having to go through all of this by hand."

Groaning, Clark resumed his pacing.

"And could you stop doing that?" Oliver demanded. "You're driving me crazy."

"Sorry. I'm just worried. Chloe's been in a lot of trouble before, but nothing like this."

"You don't have to remind me," Oliver groaned, scrolling through the information. "I've been there for the past few months."

"I've never felt so helpless," Clark admitted. He dropped into one of the empty chairs. "Chloe's gotten into a lot of trouble with meteor freaks, even before she started helping me and really put herself in the line of fire. But I've always been there. I've always had some idea what was going on. Either I was already on the trail of the meteor freak, or there was some kind of clue. But this time...Oliver, this time, I have no idea what I'm doing."

Oliver quickly typed in a few commands, hoping that he'd copied them correctly and had activated a key word search, then turned to Clark.

"Stop blaming yourself," he said.

Clark looked up and protested weakly, "That's not what I'm-"

"Yes you are. Whether you admit it or not. It's not your fault that Veronica took Chloe, or that Lex was so damn jealous. If you want to play the blame game, then, it's as much my fault as anything. I pushed Lex over the edge back in middle school. Then I strung Veronica along like I had every other girl I'd ever dated. It's Lex's fault for being so jealous and it's Veronica's fault for letting the power go to her head. All we can do is make sure that we find Chloe and bring her back in one piece, preferably undamaged."

"Oliver," Clark smiled weakly. "I just meant that I'm used to be able to swoop in and save her without it being a problem. Without even really having to think about it. This time, I don't even know where to start, and I'm just starting to realize how real the possibility that I could be to late is."

"Whatever. That's not much better," Oliver frowned. "If you're all doom and gloom then there's definitely no way we'll save Chloe. And since I'm not exactly operating a one hundred percent, you really need to be on your game."

"Not funny," Clark grumbled.

"I wasn't trying to be," Oliver said, turning back to the computer. The search seemed to be working and had pulled up several documents with the word "Morgan" in them. He started going through them as he went on. "Believe me Clark, I know we could be too late. To be honest it's scaring the crap out of me. But if I let that freak me out, I wouldn't be able to concentrate on this stupid computer program and we wouldn't be any closer to finding Chloe. If you're freaking out, you'll rush in and make things worse."

"I know," Clark said miserably. "But she's my best friend and I can't help but be a little freaked considering how well things have gone so far."

"And she's my girlfriend!" Oliver shouted. "I stood by helplessly, well actually I was laying down, but that's not the point. The point is, I was there when she was taken. And I didn't do anything. I'm worried too. I'm practically freaking out! But I have to work past that. And you do too."

"I know that," Clark snapped. "I'm just saying that this is worrying me."

"Well, I'm worried too and I think I found something." He sounded slightly surprised.

Clark was out of his chair and across the room in less than a second. Papers flew across the room in all directions. Oliver glared at the alien, then turned his attention back to the screen. "It looks like this is the deed to the property Mr. Morgan owns on the edge of town. It used to be the sight of some kind of storage facility. It was where they kept some of the equipment that got brought in to deal with the aftermath of the meteor shower. No one ever bothered to tear it down. That's got to be where Chloe is."

"Definitely," Clark agreed. "No one would ever see it. It's practically out in the middle of nowhere."

"There's no easy way to get there," Oliver continued, looking at the map he'd pulled up. "If we take the road, she'll see us coming from a mile away. Probably hear us too. Which means we either have to cut through the fields and again, risk being seen, or hike through the woods and risk getting lost."

"Or I could just super-speed there," Clark suggested.

"Right. I always forget that you can do that stuff."

"Shouldn't you be used to it by now?"

"Dude, I don't think I'll ever be used to the fact that you're an extraterrestrial," Oliver deadpanned. "But you're right. That's got to be the best way to get there. Any ideas how we're going to take her down once we get there?"

Clark shifted slightly in embarrassment. "Maybe you should stay here."

The glare Oliver sent his way rivaled the effects of meteor rock. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that, because there is no way I am staying here."

"Oliver, you said it yourself, you're not one hundred percent," Clark said calmly, trying not to further anger his friend. "You're still holding yourself carefully and I bet that if you actually got up, you'd be walking with a limp. You're more likely to get in the way than anything else and that'll probably get Chloe hurt. If you stay here-"

"I'm not staying here," Oliver growled.

"What exactly do you think you'll be able to do?" Clark demanded. He wasn't trying to goad Oliver he was just trying to get the other man to think it through before both he and Chloe were hurt or worse.

"I know there's nothing I can do to actually fight Veronica," Oliver said impatiently. "But if you can distract her, then I can get Chloe out."

Seeing that there was absolutely nothing he could do to talk Oliver out of going, Clark pursed his lips and adopted what Chloe called his superhero pose, hands on his hips, feet apart. "All right. But that is all you do. I really can't be worrying about you while I'm trying to fight Veronica."

"Don't worry," Oliver assured him. "I'll get Chloe out and that's all I'll do."

Clark nodded. "Then let's go."

Grimacing at the prospect of having to travel by super-speed, Oliver stood, moving gingerly. He was sore to be sure, but it wasn't that bad. He knew for a fact that he'd had worse since he'd gotten to Smallville. But that wasn't going to stop him from playing hero and saving his girl.

_My girl_, he thought to himself. _If Chloe heard me call her that, she'd probably slap me upside the head and call me a caveman. Is it sad that I wish she was here to do just that?_

"You ready?" Clark asked, breaking through his thoughts. Oliver nodded. There was a reason he generally took his car when he went some place, no matter what the circumstances were. Traveling at super-speed made him woozy. But he was willing to make an exception for Chloe's sake.

Clark grabbed him around the middle and took off without warning. He found it was better that way when someone didn't like traveling by super-speed. Oliver was one of the worst. The first time Clark had had to use his super-speed to get him out of a dangerous situation, Oliver had been sick to his stomach. Now that he was used to it, he was better than he used to be, but it still bothered him.

When they reached the storage facility, Clark came to halt and set Oliver back on his feet. He rested a hand on the other man's shoulder, trying to help him get his bearings. Oliver rubbed his temples until the world stopped spinning. Then stood to his full height.

"What do you think is the best way to go in?" he asked.

Narrowing his eyes, Clark scanned the building. "Chloe's in that corner," he said, pointing at the near corner. "It looks like she's laying down. I can see her heartbeat. She's alive."

"Is Veronica with her?" Oliver asked, his voice tense.

Clark narrowed his eyes again and looked more closely. "It looks like she's in the next room. I can't tell what she's doing. There's a door just around the corner that leads into the room Chloe's being kept in. You go in that way. I'll go in through the wall and distract Veronica while you get Chloe out. We'll meet back here."

"What if something happens to you? You're our ride out of here."

"The electricity shouldn't bother me," Clark said. "At least, not too much. But if something happens, call my dad. He'll come get you."

Oliver nodded. "Let's go."

Without waiting for an answer, he turned and began making his way carefully to the storage facility. The trees stopped several yards from the edge of the building. But there didn't seem to be any windows. Oliver ducked behind a tree where he could see the door and waited for some of kind of signal. His entire body was tense. If anything was wrong with Chloe...

He quickly pushed the thought away before it could become too deeply embedded in his mind. He couldn't let himself think like that. He wouldn't. Chloe was all right. She had to be.

* * *

Clark waited until he saw Oliver crouching down behind the tree. He scanned the building once more. Veronica hadn't moved. Concentrating, he pulled back his vision so that he was just looking through the wall and not her. She was standing in front of what looked like a generator. She had her hands wrapped around the power port and Clark could see sparks surrounding her hands, like she was recharging. That was probably the only reason Chloe was still alive.

Gritting his teeth, Clark sped across the field and straight through the wall. A hollow boom echoed through the room as he made contact. Veronica jumped and spun around. Her eyes widened at the sight of him. But she quickly schooled her features into amusement

"Clark Kent. Well you're the last person I expected to have meteor powers. How'd you get them?"

"You'd be surprised," Clark answered through gritted teeth.

She raised an eyebrow. "So you've got strength. I guess that explains why you're so good on the football field. But it's not enough to beat me."

Eyes crackling with blue light, she raised her hands and sent of bolt of lightning flying toward Clark. He sped out of the way easily Veronica spun around to face him again.

"What the hell? How did you do that?"

"That's not important," Clark snapped. "Tell me, why did you go after Chloe?"

"Isn't it obvious," she snapped. "She humiliated me and by going after her, I get to bring down Oliver in the process. Revenge for dumping me and for ruining Lex's life. When he finds out I did this for him, I'll be set for life. After the extremes I went to, he'll never be able to get rid of me."

Clark frowned. "So you didn't do this just to get back at Chloe and Oliver? You did it so Lex would like you?"

"It's not what you think," Veronica snickered. "There's nothing appealing about him besides his money and power. He's great in bed, but he's so serious. He was desperate to get back at Oliver. I just provided the necessary opportunity. Oliver will be completely broken after this. Just think about what the look on his face will be after he sees Chloe's body. I'm going to have to bring a camera." She snickered again. "Now all I have to do is get rid of you and I can go finish her off."

"If you think I'm going to let you get away with that, you're crazier than I thought," Clark snarled.

"You don't have a choice," Veronica hissed.

Another flash of lightning flew across the room. Clark planted his feet. The bolt rebounded off his chest, burning his shirt and pushing him backward several feet, but leaving his skin untouched. Veronica gaped.

"What the hell are you?" she demanded.

"I'm complicated."

Clark sped across the room. Veronica ducked out of the way just in time and his fist hit the wall. She flipped backward, gaining space, and lashed out with another blast of electricity, more powerful than before. The crackling energy caught Clark's legs and knocked him flat. Before he could pick himself up, another bolt of electricity hit him square in the back and he went flying across the room, through one wall into another room.

Groaning, Clark rolled onto his side and looked up. The room was glowing with a strange green tint. Looking over his shoulder, he saw a massive pile of meteor rock. Pain rippled through his stomach and his head felt like it was on fire. He fell back against the floor, writhing in agony.

"Well, well, well," Veronica sneered. "It appears the great Clark Kent does have a weakness after all. Who'd have known it would be this crap. You know, I was hoping that I'd be able to enhance my powers. It's been working a little. But at least now I know there really is a good use for it. You just make yourself comfortable, Clark. I'll be back for you once I'm done with Chloe."

"No!" Clark gasped, struggling to rise. Another wave of nausea ripped through him and he dropped back to the ground, able only to watch as Veronica walked out of the room.

* * *

The moment Oliver heard the massive boom that meant Clark had run through the wall, he sprinted across the open space as best he good with his leg still sore from the debris that fell on him. He made it to the door without incident. It was padlocked shut, but the lock was rusted through. Oliver grabbed a rock off the ground and used it to break the lock. He hoped that Clark had sufficiently distracted Veronica.

Carefully, he pushed the door open and glanced around inside. It was dark, with only the faintest bit of moonlight filtering in from windows near the roof. Cursing himself for not thinking to bring a flashlight, he crept further into the building making sure to close the door quietly behind him.

The room was bare save for a single chair that seemed incredibly out of place in the industrial building. The room was open with only the occasional supports panted in the concrete.

As his vision adjusted to the dim light, Oliver caught sight of a figure lying on the ground.

"Chloe," he gasped.

Forgetting the need to remain quiet, Oliver ran across the room and fell awkwardly to his knees beside her. She was completely still.

"No, no, no," he changed beneath his breath. "God, please no."

Oliver reached out with shaking hands and pulled Chloe onto her back, gently lifting her into his lap. Her face and arms were bruised and there were burn marks on her clothes. Gently, Oliver pushed her hair back off her face, gently caressing her cheek.

* * *

Her whole body ached. Veronica hadn't beat her with the pipe as Chloe had expected. Instead, Veronica had used the metal as a conductor, placing it against her skin and channeling her electrical powers into her. Chloe could still smell the burning fabric of her shirt.

After what seemed like hours, Veronica's electric shocks had lessened, not because the other girl had taken pity on her, but because her powers had been depleted. With a snap of her fingers, Veronica had lowered Chloe to the ground again, and left the room.

Chloe rolled onto her side and curled up into a ball. Her hands were unbound. Veronica had gotten bored with the rope restraints and switch to electric tendrils some time before she left. Obviously she didn't think Chloe had a chance of escaping. Chloe squeezed her eyes shut and allowed herself to drift back to that night with Oliver in Star City, when they'd spent the entire night talking. She remembered what it had felt like to wake up in his arms. She hadn't felt so safe, so at home, in a long time. Once, Clark's embrace had offered that kind of protection, that kind of warmth. And it still did to some degree. But the warmth Clark's arms gave her was nothing compared to Oliver's.

At that moment she wanted nothing more than to feel his arms around her again, to feel like she was safe and loved the way only he could love her.

Love. It scared her to admit it, but Chloe was pretty sure that she was head over heels in love with Oliver Queen. She wasn't ready to tell him that by any means. But the thought that she might not get the chance to tell him that and feel his arms around her, his body giving her warmth, scared her more than Veronica ever could.

Chloe was so desperate for Oliver that she could practically feel his arms around her. Somehow, in the midst of her thoughts, she'd rolled onto her back. Veronica must have done more damage than she thought, because Chloe was positive that she was laying against someone. Then, she felt the gentlest of touches brush her hair out of her face, gently tracing the bruises she knew to be there. She was almost positive that she wasn't imagining that.

Forcing herself back to full consciousness, Chloe opened her eyes slowly and found herself looking up into the concerned brown eyes of Oliver Queen.

"Ollie?" she whispered.

Relief crossed his face and a tentative smile pulled at his lips. "Chloe?"

Ignoring the protests her sore limbs sent to her brain, Chloe hauled herself upright and threw her arms around Oliver's neck, sobbing. His strong arms automatically encircled her waist, dragging her closer.

Relief coursed through him. She was alive and in his arms again. Oliver pulled back enough to press his lips to hers in a desperate kiss. He'd meant for it to be soft and reassuring, but the moment their lips met, his need for her became so great he lost all capability for thought.

The feel of Oliver's lips on hers was so wonderful, Chloe could have cried. It was proof that she was alive and that everything would be all right. She wove her hands through his hair, pulling herself closer. She could feel his heart beating against her chest. And it was the most wonderful thing she had ever felt.

Another boom echoed through the warehouse, and Oliver suddenly remembered exactly where they were and what was going on. He pulled away from Chloe and gently cradled her face.

"We have to get out of here," he whispered. "Can you walk?"

She nodded. He slid an arm around her waist and stood slowly, pulling her up with him, gritting his teeth as the movement caused his ribs to twinge painfully. Oliver tried not to look at the bruises and burns that covered her exposed flesh. The mere sight sent made his blood boil with an intense desire to kick Veronica's ass himself. But Clark was handling that and there wasn't much he needed to do. He needed to focus on getting Chloe to safety. He could fantasize about throttling Veronica later.

They had barely taken two steps when Oliver paused, cocking his head slightly. A soft sound was drifting through the wall from the other room. It sounded like high-heels clicking against the concrete floor.

"Crap!" he hissed.

Chloe frowned. "What?"

"I think she's coming!"

"Don't you have a plan?" she demanded incredulously.

Oliver tugged her into a dark corner. "Clark's supposed to be taking care of her."

Her eyes widened. "That's not good."

Though he whole-heartedly agreed, he didn't say anything. Oliver knew that the only way Veronica could have beaten Clark, even with her abilities, was if she had meteor rock and they were in the middle of an abandoned warehouse. The chances that she would have meteor rock on her were slim, unless she knew about Clark's weakness. And if she did, they were definitely in trouble.

Chloe buried her head against Oliver's chest as fear threatened to consume her. Her own death she could deal with. But if he got pulled into this with her, she would never forgive herself. Oliver was the first guy she'd ever fallen for who'd fallen for her the same way. He was ridiculously observant and caring, always making sure she had whatever she needed, whether she asked for it or not. And the way he looked at her. As guilty as she felt that because of her, he might die, Chloe couldn't help but be glad that he was there with her.

As though he could guess what was going through her head, Oliver tightened his grip on her shoulders.

_We are so screwed_, he thought. _If she can beat Clark, I don't have a chance. _

Not that that was going to stop him from trying. There was no way he was going to let the person who nearly killed the woman he loved get away with it without a fight.

Oliver carefully scanned the warehouse, looking for something he could use as a weapon. A red box labeled "In case of Emergency" caught his eye. he glanced up at the ceiling and saw the sprinkler system. It was a long shot, but if he could get the sprinklers on, he might have a chance to short her out.

"What are you thinking?" Chloe whispered.

A grin tugged at his lips, despite the situation. Only Chloe would know that he had something up his sleeve. Keeping his voice down, Oliver quickly relayed his plan. Chloe nodded to show that she'd understood just as the door swung open.

Oliver felt his heart constrict slightly. It was time.

* * *

Clark was laying on his back in front of the pile of meteor rocks. It felt like every nerve was on fire. He was so nauseous he could barely think straight. One thought was blazoned across his mind. He had to get to Veronica before she made it to the other room where Chloe and Oliver were. Clark knew that there was no way his two friends could have made it out. Not with both of them injured. Oliver could never carry her out fast enough. Clark was their only hope. He had to get out of that room, away from the meteor rock, and save his friends.

But the effects were too great. He was too close to the pile of rocks, and had been laying there for too long. He barely had the strength to roll onto his back, just the slightest bit further away from the poisonous rock. But it wasn't enough. He tried to roll further away, but pain shot through his gut.

His vision blurred and he fell back onto the floor. Clark cleared his voice and tried to call out, to warn his friends, even if they were so far away. It was futile. He was so dizzy and his mind was so fuzzy.

Clark's eyes drifted shut and he fell into a living dream, knowing that even as he lay there, his two closest friends were probably facing death.

* * *

Veronica's eyes narrowed. The little blonde bitch wasn't where she'd left her.

"I'm not in the mood to play games," Veronica shouted. "Not after your little farmboy freak tried to crush me. So come out or I swear to God, I will light this place up like a freaking christmas tree with you and Clark still inside!"

Chloe glanced over at Oliver. He nodded and she pulled away, slowly moving out into the open.

"Please," she whispered. "I just want to go home."

"Yeah right," Veronica scoffed. "Like I'm letting go. After what that bastard did to me, I'm not letting you go in one piece. And I thought killing just you would destroy Oliver. What do you think will happen if he loses his girlfriend and his only friend all in one fell swoop. I almost wish you'd live to see the look on his face."

Still hidden in the shadows, Oliver had to fight the urge to break cover and give Veronica a piece of his mind. He moved slowly down the wall. The emergency box was mounted on a support pole in the middle of the room. Even if Chloe managed to keep Veronica distracted, he was going to have a very short window to run across the space and pull the alarm, activating the sprinklers, before the psycho meteor freak spotted and fried him. That of course, was assuming that the damn sprinklers would work in the first place.

Chloe swallowed convulsively. "Haven't you done enough to me, to Clark, and to Oliver already? Just let me go, and I won't even tell anyone that it was you. I'll make sure Oliver and Clark do the same. We'll all keep our mouths shut. Just please let me go."

The begging was a little over the top and she was sure that Oliver was probably dying of guilt, but Chloe wanted Veronica's attention on her and her alone and so far, it was working.

The other girl laughed. "I knew I'd break your spirit. Who'd have thought that the great Chloe Sullivan, the intrepid reporter and seeker of truth, would be reduced to begging me for mercy. Do you know how many people like me you've put in Belle Reeve or gotten killed? What am I asking? Of course you know. You were there most of the time. You are not going anywhere. Get that through your head. Oliver will suffer and so will you. I think it's time that we get started again."

Without warning, Veronica hit Chloe with a blast of electricity. Crying out, Chloe fell to the ground, convulsing. Oliver cursed under his breath and sprinted across the room, toward the emergency box.

"What the?" Veronica gasped.

She caught sight of the man running across the warehouse. Snarling, she clenched her hand, gathering a glow orb of energy around her fist. Oliver slid to a stop, almost plowing into the support column and reached out for the handle. His fingers brushed against it. But before he could grasp it and pull it, Veronica unleashed the electrical maelstrom she'd gathered and it slammed into him, knocking him off his feet.

He could smell burning hair and he knew it was his own. Every inch of his skin felt raw and flayed. He ached all over and his body was convulsing uncontrollably. The pressure of the floor against his skin was more painful than anything he had ever felt before. Blackness clouded his vision and he knew he was losing consciousness. He fought against it with everything he had. He had to reach that box and activate the sprinklers.

Chloe saw Oliver fall and her heart stopped. It took every ounce of self control she had not to run to his side. Veronica had already turned her attention away from Oliver. Chloe backed away slowly. The maniacal light in her eyes was so strong that Chloe thought that she was going to develop Clark's heat vision.

"I should have known the farmboy didn't have the balls to face me without some kind of backup," the meteor freak snarled. "Though I have to admit, I'm surprised Oliver was willing to risk his life for you. He must like you more than I thought. Too bad he'll have to live knowing that you died while he lay by, helpless."

Chloe's back hit a concrete column. There was no where left to go, no where left to run, no one left to come rescue her. Calm washed over her. She was not going to die a coward, not after everything she had been through. Taking a deep breath, Chloe stood to her full height, looking Veronica in the eye.

"Do whatever the hell you want with me," she snapped, her voice echoing through the room. "But you don't win today. You'll never have Oliver and you'll never be anything more than a freak and a sorry excuse for a human being."

Snarling under her breath, Veronica stalked forward so that she stood only ten feet from Chloe. Blue arcs of electricity crackled across her skin. Her hair stood on end, fanning about her face as though she was caught in a wind storm. Chloe felt the entire room being charged with electricity.

Raising her hands above her head, Veronica hissed, "Die, bitch."

Chloe raised her chin, refusing to look away, and braced herself for the impact.

A clicking sound ran through the warehouse and water poured down from the ceiling. Chloe raised a hand above her head, ducking slightly to keep the water out of her eyes. Veronica screamed, a high keening sound of absolute pain. The electricity she'd gathered around herself flickered and sparked erratically. Chloe ducked when a streak of electricity flew towards her. She looked back at Veronica. She was standing rooted to the floor, convulsing and twitching. Her back was arched and here eyes were rolled back.

The sparking became even more erratic and stronger than before. Chloe narrowly dodged getting hit twice more. The glow of electricity surrounding Veronica grew. Chloe's eyes widened. She knew enough about science and electricity to have some idea of what was about to happen.

She darted behind the nearest concrete column, curling herself into a ball. Another high, keening scream echoed through the warehouse, over the sound of the sprinklers and an explosion rocked the room. Chloe covered her head as the shock rippled past her. She could feel the concrete creaking in protest. A crack appeared in the ceiling above her head. Chloe whimpered and pushed herself more firmly against the column that was shielding her.

Eerie silence fell across the warehouse. For a moment, Chloe remained still, unable to move. Slowly, she pushed herself up and looked around cautiously. Veronica was laying on the floor where she had been standing. Her hair was smoking, despite the water still pelting down.

The warehouse was still in tact, though it looked like there had definitely been some structural damage. A figure was stumbling toward her, using the columns for support.

"Oliver!" Chloe gasped, running forward, reaching him just in time to catch him as his legs gave out. With his height and weight, Chloe's knees gave and they both slid to the floor. She managed to direct them back toward a column and leaned against it, holding Oliver against her chest.

"Veronica?" he murmured softly. His voice was cracked and rough.

Chloe gently ran a hand through his hair. "She's definitely taken care of. You got the sprinklers turned on just in time. Are you all right?"

"I got thrown into the wall," he admitted. "I'm a little battered and sore, but I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

He smiled weakly and climbed to his feet, swaying slightly. "As soon as I get some sleep, I'll be as good as new."

Shaking her head, Chloe stood as well, and wrapped her arm around his waist, pulling his over her shoulders. He pulled her tight against him and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "We need to go see what happened to Clark."

Chloe nodded. Together, they made their way into the next room. Chloe instantly saw the telltale green glow of meteor rock.

"Oh my god," she gasped.

Oliver's grip on her shoulders tightened. "Crap. We gotta get them out of there."

As quickly as he could since his body was still stiff, he and Chloe raced across the room. Clark was lying almost unconscious on the floor, surrounded by green meteor rock. Oliver pulled his arm from Chloe's shoulders and grabbed one of Clark's arms with a groan. Chloe grabbed the other and together, they managed to painstakingly and slowly pull the alien fare enough away from the meteor rock for Clark to recover.

He moaned and rolled onto his stomach, pushing himself up into a sitting position. Seeing that his friend was going to be all right. Oliver leaned against Chloe, truly calm for the first time since they'd been attacked.

"Are you all right, Clark?" Chloe asked.

He nodded, rubbing his temple. "Yeah. Are you two okay?"

"Relatively," Oliver said grimly. "What's all the meteor rock doing here?"

Clark's face darkened. "Veronica was trying to make herself more powerful. She knew that it was part of what gave her her powers. I'll get Dad to take care of it later. You two look exhausted. We should get you back."

"Not going to complain," Oliver chuckled.

"I'll speed you guys home," Clark offered.

Oliver blanched. "No offense, Clark, but I've been through enough tonight, I don't think I can handle traveling by super-speed again. Can you just go get the truck and give us a ride?"

Chloe suppressed a chuckle and Clark smirked slightly. "I'll be back in a minute."

There was a gust of wind and Clark disappeared.

* * *

_Author's Note: This is a freaking long chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it. I see only two maybe three more chapters in the future for this fic. However, I promise nothing. My writing has a way of taking on a life of it's own in a major way. With my luck,who knows how long this will end up being. I'll try to have the next chapter up later tonight or tomorrow. At this point it just needs some minor editing._


	15. Chapter 15

**Title**: Twist of Fate

**Rating**: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

**Summary**: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

**Warning**: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

_Author's Note: I have a slight warning. This might be a little OOC compared to the TV portrayal of Oliver especially. I went out on a limb a little here because I'm guessing about what he would have been like as a teenager under these circumstances. I don't want to give away too much here, but please keep an open mind when it comes to this chapter. I tried to be as true to the character as I could.

* * *

_

Chapter 15

Chloe dropped her towel on the counter and padded softly out of the bathroom and down the hall. She paused and leaned against the door to the living room, admiring the view.

Oliver was stretched out across the couch. His hair was still damp from the shower he'd taken and he was dressed only in a pair of sweatpants. There was a burn on his chest from the first time Veronica had hit him, but it had already faded and no longer looked so raw. Chloe bit her lip. He didn't often go around shirtless, and she suspected it was because he was trying to take things slow and didn't want to make it more difficult on either of them, but when he did, she definitely admired the view. Stretched out like he was, even with the burn, Oliver was definitely yummy.

He was flipping idly through the channels, waiting for Chloe to get out of the shower. Clark had dropped them off at his place without even asking if she wanted to go home, something for which Oliver was extremely grateful. After everything that had happened, being away from Chloe while he was stuck in Star City and then having to watch her being dragged away and everything else that had happened with Veronica, he didn't think he could handle another night without her.

They hadn't taken _that_ step in their relationship by any means. Oliver was being very careful to take to take their relationship slow. After so much time having meaningless flings that were all about sex, that was the last thing he wanted his relationship with Chloe to be about. He was waiting until he was sure they were both ready before he even let himself think about her like that. But late nights hanging out or researching had led to falling asleep together more than once and Oliver had found that sleeping beside Chloe gave him a sense of safety and belonging. Just being around her in general was like that. After that day, he desperately needed that.

Smiling softly, Chloe pushed herself off the wall and walked over to the back of the sofa. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his temple. Oliver started slightly and she pulled back grinning.

"Hey handsome," she whispered.

He reached up and rested a hand against her cheek. "You going to stand there, or are you going to join me?"

"There's no room for me," she pouted.

Oliver rolled his eyes. Sitting up slightly, he grabbed her arm and easily pulled her over the back of the couch, onto his body. She giggled, slapping his chest lightly as she struggled to pull free. But his arms around her were too strong.

"That was so not cool," she grumbled.

"I think it had it's benefits."

She cocked an eyebrow and looked at him. "Oh really?"

Threading a hand through her hair, Oliver brought her lips just short of his. "Definitely."

Closing the distance, he captured her lips softly. He sat up and moved them back against the arm of the chair so that he was leaning against it. Chloe automatically shifted to sit across his laps with her legs draped over the edge of the couch. Oliver gently brushed his lips against her again, this time a little more firmly. Their lips moved together naturally and easily.

Chloe moved her hands to his shoulders and gently traced his lips with her tongue. A shudder rippled through Oliver's body. Parting her lips with his, he sought entrance to her mouth and their tongues met in a fiery dance. Chloe pressed herself closer to Oliver and shifted on his lap so that she was straddling him. He suppressed a moan at the movement. His heart was racing in his chest.

This wasn't the first time the two of them had gotten heated. They were a couple of teenagers after all. But this time, it wasn't like anything before. After everything that had happened, being tortured and attacked by a crazy meteor freak, being apart, fearing that they'd never see each other again, there was a charge beneath their kisses that hadn't been there before.

Oliver slid a hand up her side, pulling his mouth from hers and instead looking intently into her eyes. The way she looked at him was incredible. He never got tired of it. In some ways, it reminded him of the way his parents had looked at him before they died. It made him feel like he could actually do something important.

Gently running her hand along the side of his face, Chloe gazed down at him and wondered what she'd done to be so happy. Sure she'd been captured and tortured, but the way Oliver looked at her, made Chloe feel like she was worth noticing. She'd always felt so invisible before, in the shadow of her loudmouthed cousin and even Clark. Oliver made her feel like she was bathed in light. She was always the center of his attention, no matter what was going on. He made her feel wanted, which was something she hadn't felt in that way in a long time. She pressed her lips back to his, suddenly desperate to prove just how much she felt for him.

A jolt ran through Oliver, as strong as one of Veronica's blasts, but far more wonderful. He pressed his back more firmly against the arm of the sofa and dragged Chloe closer. The movement cause Chloe to inadvertently grind against him.

Oliver's eyes flew open and he pulled away, putting as much space between them as he could before things went too far.

Chloe frowned. "What's wrong?" she asked, panting slightly.

"Nothing," Oliver whispered, running a hand through her hair and smiling tenderly. "I just don't want things to go too far."

"Oh. Sorry." Blushing furiously from her neck to her hairline, she tried to pull away and move off of his lap, but he tightened his grip on her.

"That's not what I meant," he said quickly. "Chloe, it's not that I don't want to. I do. Really I do. You have no idea how much I want to. You're so beautiful and..." he trailed off, clearly unable to articulate what he thought. After struggling for words for several moments, he sighed and moved on. "But I don't want it to happen because of what just happened with Veronica. I don't want it to happen because we were afraid that we would never see each other again. If we're going to sleep together, I want it to be because we're ready, because we want to make it happen for no other reason than that we want each other."

Running a hand through his hair in agitation, he looked at her with agonized eyes. "I have screwed up so much of my life because of sex, I don't want to take that chance with you. I mean, I do. I want to have that with you, I just don't want it to ruin our relationship because we aren't ready. I already came so close to losing you tonight. Sex for me has always been so mindless and anonymous. Most of the time I don't even talk to the girls I...and I don't want that to happen with you and...God! I should just really shut up, shouldn't I?"

Chloe laughed and pressed her lips to his briefly. "Have I mentioned that you're amazing?"

"Even after what I just said?" he asked incredulously.

"Because of what you just said. I'm not ready either, I would never think that you don't want me that way. When we're ready, we'll know and we'll take that next step. Right now, it's just enough for me to have you, here with me. That's all I need."

Oliver grinned and shook his head. "And you think I'm amazing. Personally, I think you are."

"Maybe we could agree that we are mutually amazing," she suggested.

"I think I like that plan."

"Good." Chloe snuggled against Oliver's chest and let her eyes drift shut.

He chuckled and moved down the sofa a bit so that they were both more comfortable. "Tired?" he murmured.

"Exhausted," she moaned. "But happy."

Pulling her closer, he pressed his face against her hair. "Me too. I'm so glad you're all right. There were a few minutes here and there when I thought we wouldn't make it," he admitted.

Chloe looked up and cupped his face in her hands. "Hey. Everything turned out all right, so don't you dare think that way."

"It was a close call," he said softly. "I'm not about to ignore that or forget. It was like losing my parents all over again, but this time, it was my fault. And I'm not talking about Lex or Veronica. I was almost too late, Chloe. I was laying there on the floor and I didn't think I was going to be able to stand up and pull that fire alarm. Knowing that I could lose you like that, it scared me."

"It scared me too," Chloe whispered. "We've had some close calls before, but nothing like this. I can still remember how..." She chewed her lip for a moment before going on. "How empty you were when we first met and I was so afraid that you would be like that again because of me. Being dead is easy compared to feeling that. And when I saw you get hit by that last blast..."

She shuddered and turned her eyes away. "I thought I'd gotten you killed," she whispered.

"I knew the risks I was taking. It's not your fault," he said firmly.

Chloe glared at him. "I know. Stop interrupting."

He eyed her warily, but said nothing and gestured for her to go on.

"I know it's not my fault. But I don't know what I'd do if I lost you like that. It scared me. A lot. But it's over," she said forcefully. "Veronica is locked up in Belle Reeve by now, the story will be in the papers so the whole town will know what she did, minus the electrical powers of course, and we are together, in one piece, which is a small miracle if you think about it. Please, stop thinking about what happened. Don't let it color our relationship. If you dwell on this like you are, then Veronica will win, because it'll destroy us."

Sighing sadly, Chloe stood, ducking out of Oliver's arms and moved to the kitchen. The evening definitely wasn't going the way she had hoped. It wasn't that she didn't understand what Oliver was saying and where he was coming from. She just didn't want it to define their relationship in the future. She didn't want Veronica to win that like.

Oliver jumped up, his stomach dropping and her words ringing in his ears.

"Chloe," he called, following her into the kitchen. She was standing in front of the counter, her hands braced on the granite, tension radiating from her shoulders. Without hesitating, he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her waist. She automatically relaxed into him. The iron band that had constricted around his heart eased.

Pressing a kiss to the crook of her neck, he murmured, "I don't want this to define our relationship. But it just happened. I'm still dealing with it. And I'm not going to lie to you. It's going to be a while before I'm completely over it. I reserve the right to be ridiculously overprotective for the next few weeks. But I will get over this," he promised, turning her around to look her in the eye. "I just need a little time get my head wrapped around the idea that I could lose you. I've lost everyone. My parents died, I pushed away anyone who might have cared about me or who I might of cared about, and I'm not going to let that happen to us. I just need a little time."

"Ollie," Chloe sighed. "Every conversation we've had since we got here has in someone way revolved around Veronica and what she did to us!"

"It happened less than two hours ago!" Oliver exclaimed. "I need you to understand that I thought I was going to lose you and it's going to be a while before I stop freaking out about that. You're the best thing to happen to me, as sappy and ridiculous as it sounds, it's true."

She sighed again and gently rested a hand on his chest. "I know it's too early to be saying this, but I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you and you are not going to lose me without one hell of a fight."

Oliver stilled at her words, his mouth falling open slightly, but she went on without noticing. "But if you keep worrying about what might happen, this is never going anywhere. I've spent years waiting, holding on to the things that happened, to the pain, to the ways I've been hurt. Between Clark never seeing me the way I used to see him and the meteor freaks who tried to kill me, I could have decided long ago to close myself off because of what might happen the next time I fell for someone and I was close to doing just that, but you came along and I risked it. If I'd let my past make my decisions like you're doing, we'd never be together in the first place. And you let that fear make all your decisions..." she trailed off, shaking her head.

Oliver gaped at her. Had he heard her correctly? Had she said she loved him? He slipped a finger beneath her chin and tilted her head up so that he could see her eyes.

"I really do get what you're saying," he whispered. "And I'm not going to let this hang over me for the rest of my life. I just need a few days."

She nodded. "I get that. But please, promise me that you'll talk to me, that you won't brood over this? Veronica did enough to us without screwing everything up from Belle Reeve."

"Agreed." Sliding his hand down to her hip, Oliver pulled Chloe closer and cocked his head. "So you're pretty sure you love me, huh?"

Her face turned bright, tomato red, but she met his eyes. "I know it's early. We've only been going out a few months and we're both still in high school. But I've never felt like this before, nothing this intense by any means. I know what I feel, but I don't expect you to feel the same way yet."

"And yet," Oliver chuckled, pressing a light kiss to her nose, "I'm pretty sure I love you too."

A smile spread across Chloe's face and she threw her arms around his neck. Oliver spun her around and carried her back into the living room, sitting on the sofa again.

"Does that qualify as our first real fight?" he asked, grinning cheekily.

"I guess," Chloe laughed, curling up against his chest.

"Well, then, that wasn't so bad."

"It could definitely have been worse."

"I don't think I want to see worse."

"Me neither."

"So what do you want to tonight?"

Chloe looked up at him and smiled sheepishly. "Honestly? I kinda just want to sleep."

"That sounds like a really good idea," Oliver admitted.

"But," Chloe continued, looking even more sheepish, "I'm not sure that I'm ready to be alone."

He chuckled and stood, lifting her easily. "I think I can solve that problem."

She cocked an eyebrow, but she said nothing and burrowed into his shoulder, wrapping her arms more securely about his neck. Oliver pressed his cheek into her hair as he walked down the hall.

Chloe looked up when she heard a door open and realized that they were standing in his bedroom. She looked up at him. "Really?" she asked incredulously.

She could have sworn she saw a blush creep into his cheeks. "We both know I don't expect anything, but I'm not ready to be alone either and sleeping on the couch, despite the many times we've done it, isn't all the comfortable. I just thought-"

Chloe cut of his ramble with her lips on his. "I was just kidding, Ollie," she said when she pulled back. "It's really sweet of you to offer and I am happy to accept you as my living security blanket tonight."

"Glad I could be of use," he joked, walking over to the bed.

He lowered her gently onto the mattress, then walked across the room and flipped of the light. Chloe crawled beneath the covers. Rolling onto her side, she tucked one hand beneath the pillow. Oliver slid in beside her, facing her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, tucking her in beneath his chin. Chloe sighed gently, resting her face against his heartbeat, allowing the sound to lull her to sleep.

* * *

Oliver woke slowly the next morning to the feel of warm sunlight on his face and a body pressed against his. He smiled in his half-sleep and pulled her closer. Chloe mumbled something in her slumber. She rolled over and draped her arm cross Oliver's chest, resting her hand against his neck.

It was the most amazing feeling, laying there with her and Oliver was reluctant to wake up. But now that he was beginning to, he was aware of the various aches and pains that were the result of Veronica's assault and it was enough to drive him back to wakefulness. That didn't mean he was against laying there and pretending he was asleep.

"I know you're awake," Chloe murmured. She looked up at him blearily.

Oliver grinned. "Can't get anything past you, can I?"

"Nope. What time is it?"

"No clue."

"Are you going to look?"

"Do I have to?"

Chloe poked him in the ribs. "You're the one facing the clock."

"Play fair," Oliver admonished, cracking an eye open to glance at the clock. "It's noon."

Chloe groaned. "I can't believe we slept that late."

"Noon isn't late," he laughed. "Six is late. Noon is typical morning after stuff."

"Did you just compare this to a one night stand?" she asked, raising her head and narrowing her eyes at him.

Oliver rolled his eyes and twisted toward her, tickling her ribs. "I was thinking more along the lines of the morning after a passionate night of love making between two people who are madly in love."

"Mhmm. Because that is totally what happened between us," she scoffed.

"Well it's definitely in our future," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her collar bone. "And we might as well get as much practice as possible."

"This is practice?"

"In my book, yes."

"I'd like to read that book," Chloe joked.

His eyes smoldered and Oliver pressed a searing kiss to her lips. "Any time," he whispered.

Chloe smiled softly. "Thanks."

"No need. I'm just glad I have someone to share everything with."

"Ditto."

Pecking her lips again, Oliver rolled back and looked down at her. The sight of her, laying on his bed, her hair tousled and her eyes still slightly glazed with sleep, dressed in the shirt and gym shorts he'd loaned her the night before, caused his heart to constrict with happiness.

Running a hand through her hair, he murmured. "What are your plans for spring break?"

Chloe sighed. "I really don't have any. There was a meteor freak on the lose, Lois is off with the general, and I wasn't sure if you were coming back in time. I pretty much figured I'd spend most of my time researching or hanging with out Clark

"However," she added with a sly grin. "Now that said meteor freak is in Belle Reeve, I seem to have a lot of free time on my hands. Any suggestions, Romeo?"

"It just so happens that I have quite a bit of free time, too. What do you say we spend it together?" Oliver bent down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Chloe sighed happily and burrowed closer to him.

"Sounds perfect."

"That's what I wanted to hear."

Chloe smiled softly and felt sleep begin to claim her again. But just before she succumbed, she murmured, "I love you, Ollie."

His heart constricted. It was the first time she'd really said it, without any qualifiers, and it was the first time anyone had said that to him since his parents died and he'd actually believed they meant it. Feeling happier and more content than he had in over a decade, Oliver pressed a kiss to Chloe's hair and whispered, "I love you, too."

* * *

_Author's Note: So I know this chapter was really intense. Again, I apologize if Oliver seemed a little OOC. If he does here, then he will in the next couple of chapters as well. Adult Oliver would probably handle the situation a lot better, but I'm not writing adult Oliver. I'm writing teenage Oliver and I think that, especially considering Chloe is the first person he's gotten close to in my AU that the whole ordeal with Veronica would be really hard on him. If you do think this is OOC, please let me know so that I can try to fix it in the next chapter. I want to be as true to the character as possible while conveying the emotions necessary for my fic. I welcome any feedback, especially on this. Thanks for reading and again, reviews are like mana in the desert. The more the better._


	16. Chapter 16

**Title**: Twist of Fate

**Rating**: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

**Summary**: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

**Warning**: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

Chapter 16

"So what are we going to do today?"

Oliver looked up from his breakfast and pursed his lips. "What do you want to do?"

Chloe set aside her fork and thought carefully over her words. For the past three days, she and Oliver had been holed up in his place, watching movies and talking, making out, and just in general enjoying one another's company. Aside from a visit from Clark to make sure they were really okay and drop off some clothes for Chloe (Oliver had been slightly disappointed that she stopped wearing his clothes), they'd been completely isolated from the outside world and it was driving her crazy.

She understood why Oliver was reluctant to leave the safe little cocoon they had created. As promised, he was working on moving past what had happened, but he was definitely still freaked and was the slightest bit overprotective. Chloe hadn't realized just how bad things were until the night before.

(story break)

Something hard landed across Chloe's chest, waking her from a dead sleep. She jolted upright, gazing blindly around. The room was unfamiliar. Panic spread through her chest. She leapt off the bed, almost falling when her legs tangled in the blankets.

It was as she picked herself up again that she finally realized where she was. Chloe fell back onto the bed in relief, taking deep breaths in order to calm her heartbeat. She was in Oliver's room. Since that first night, they'd continued sleeping together for the comfort being together offered.

The bed shifted beneath her. Chloe turned to look at Oliver. The image of him sleeping usually calmed her, but the sight that met her eyes was anything but calming.

His face was creased in fear and anxiety. Sweat covered his body, every inch of which was practically vibrating with tension. The sheets were knotted around his legs. The fitted sheet was twisted beneath him. As she watch, Oliver convulsed in his sleep, throwing an arm out as though fending off some enemy.

"No," he mumbled. "Get away from her!"

Chloe felt her heart constrict painfully in her chest. That one, simple sentence was enough to tell her exactly what he was dreaming about.

"Leave her alone!" Oliver moaned. He threw out his arm again, narrowly missing Chloe. She realized that was what had woken her up.

Ducking the flailing limbs, Chloe moved closer. She laid a hand against his face. He flinched against her palm. The lines on his face deepened and his entire body shuddered.

"Ollie," she whispered. "Please, Ollie, wake up. It's just a dream. Wake up!"

He lashed out in his sleep, almost kicking her off the bed. Chloe somehow managed to avoid him and ended up straddling his waist. She placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to hold him still. But it was futile attempt. Even lost in a nightmare, he was ridiculously stronger than her.

Chloe grabbed his face in her hands. "Oliver! Wake up!'

His eyelids fluttered. But he didn't wake. He twisted beneath her, almost throwing her off.

In a last ditch effort to wake him, Chloe grabbed his face more firmly and planted a hard kiss on Oliver's lips. She felt his body tense, his muscles impossibly tight and Chloe thought she was going to be thrown off onto the floor. Then, he relaxed. Completely. His lips softened against hers, parting slightly. Chloe deepened the kiss slowly, softly caressing his mouth and tongue with hers. She knew that he was fully awake when his hand landed on her waist.

Slowly, Chloe pulled back. Oliver was looking up at her with hooded eyes. Sweat was beaded across his forehead. She gently brushed it away, running her fingers lightly through his hair.

"Hey," she whispered. "That was one hell of a dream. Want to tell me about it?"

Oliver drew in a shaky breath. "I...I keep seeing what...might have happened if I'd been too late. I see her...I see her doing these horrible things and I can't stop her. God...every time I'm too late."

Leaning down, Chloe pressed her forehead to his, gently stroking his hair. "Shhh," she murmured. "It's all right. That didn't happen. I'm right here, I'm all right, and Veronica can never hurt us again. It's over."

He nodded, closing his eyes tightly. "I know. I know. But, it's still there in the back of my mind. I...I can't stop it."

"I know. It'll get better," she whispered. "It always does. It always has for me."

"How do you do it?" Oliver asked, his voice cracking slightly. "How do you just go back to your normal life after something...something like this happens?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "I just do. I make sure I'm around my friends, that I feel safe. And after a while it gets easier. When I was buried alive, I had nightmares for weeks. It took time before it stopped. I threw myself into the Torch. I just didn't let myself think about it, but at night, it all came back. I used to wake up in the middle of the night, thinking I was still in the coffin. It was probably a month before I slept through the night again.

"Ollie, there's no easy way to get over something like this. But eventually, you will." She pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I promise."

Fingers weaving through her hair, Oliver leaned up and captured her lips, kissing her passionately. Chloe returned the kiss quickly, trying to convey her love and support.

"Thank you," Oliver murmured.

She smiled and slid off him, curling up against his side with her head on his chest. "Anytime."

Oliver wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, and together, they drifted off to sleep.

(story break)

That little wake up call (she winced slightly at the unintentional pun) had really opened Chloe's eyes. She'd really thought that Ollie was dealing with what happened. Everything had been completely normal. Their conversations had been easy and Veronica hadn't been mentioned once, except when the article had come out in the paper. She'd really thought that he was managing to put it behind him. Apparently she'd been wrong.

Oliver raised an eyebrow and waved his hand in front of Chloe's face. "What's going on in there?"

Chloe blinked. "Nothing. Sorry. What did you say?"

"I asked if you had any ideas about what you wanted to do today. You sure you're all right?" he asked. "You look a little out of it."

"I'm fine," she said, waving him off. "I was actually wondering if you wanted to head over to wander around downtown. We can go out to eat or catch a movie later."

Chloe waited anxiously for Oliver to answer. She wasn't sure how he was going to react to actually leaving the house. After last night, she'd have to guess that he wouldn't be very comfortable with the idea of being around other people. But she knew that being out and about would help them get over what had happened.

Grinning, Oliver nodded and turned back to his food. "Sounds fun. You want to make a day of it?"

"That was the plan," she said softly, turning back to her food as well. "Anything you want to do today?"

Oliver shrugged. "Not really. If I see something I'll let you know. How soon do you want to leave?"

"Whenever," Chloe answered. "Sooner than later, though."

"Then I'll get dressed when we're done eating and we'll leave." He looked up and grinned at her. "Are you going to let me spoil you?"

She shrugged. "Maybe. Depends on what exactly you mean by spoiled."

His grinned widened and took on a slightly mischievous quality. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Chloe sighed and dropped her head head into her hand, gazing up at Oliver through her hair. He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Are we even going to talk about last night?" she asked.

Oliver immediately became serious. "What's there to talk about?"

"I just want to be sure that you're okay," Chloe whispered.

His face softening, Oliver slid off his chair and moved to stand beside her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "I'm okay. Sorta," he chuckled weakly. Chloe glared at him and he shrugged apologetically. "All right. Bad joke. Chlo, we've been through this before. It's going to be a while before I'm completely all right with what happened and I'll admit that's it's going to be a little nerve-wracking being out there again. But I'm dealing. Yes, I had a nightmare and like you said, I'll probably have more. But I'm fine. Really. You don't need to worry about me."

Chloe's eyes narrowed. "The hell I do. You're my boyfriend, my best friend. I'm going to worry about you whether you like it or not."

Pressing his face to her hair, Oliver whispered, "You do realize that goes both ways, right?"

She nodded. "I know. Sorry if I'm being too clingy."

"You're not clingy," he chuckled. "You're worried and for good reason. I haven't had someone to worry about me in a long time. I'm not used to keeping people in the loop about what's going on with me. It means a lot that you care enough to get it out of me."

"That's what I'm here for," Chloe whispered, kissing his cheek. "Now what do you say we get dressed and have some fun?"

Oliver grinned. "Let's go."

(story break)

"Seriously, you couldn't stand up for me or at least claim me as your boyfriend?" Oliver groaned.

Chloe laughed. "And deprive old Ms. Lafferty a little happiness?"

"She's eighty years old and she was leering at me!"

"And it was hilarious."

Oliver scowled and tickled her ribs. "You are a horrible, horrible girlfriend."

Squealing, Chloe broke free and danced around in front of him. "And you love me for it."

"For some strange reason," he said, shaking his head.

She just grinned and moved back to his side, slipping her hand into his. "Come on. You know that if there had been any real danger, I'd have been all over her."

"No danger," he scoffed. "She was practically all on top of me!"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Stop overreacting."

"No," Oliver pouted. "I am wounded that my girlfriend would leave me to the clutches of an old woman who obviously hasn't been laid in half a century."

"You think she wanted a one night stand?" Chloe laughed.

"I don't know, maybe."

She laughed again and stood on her tiptoes to peck him on the cheek. "You are a ridiculous idiot, you know that?"

"And it's part of my charm," he grinned.

Chloe shook her head and slipped her arm around his waist. They walked down the sidewalk toward his car. The sun was just dipping below the horizon and Oliver was more relaxed than she'd seen in days. He'd been tense at first as they strolled up and down the street, ducking into the quaint little shops. But he'd loosened up and they'd had fun.

As it turned out, Oliver's idea of spoiling her was trying to buy pretty much everything that caught her attention. Chloe laughed and waved him off most of the time. But he prevailed every now and then. Sometimes, Chloe let him win the argument because she could see that he just wanted to pamper her, to have the opportunity to giver her things only he could give her and if she had to guess, turning him down every time was probably hurting his feelings. And it was nice to have someone looking after her like that.

Oliver pulled open the car door and deposited the bags he was carrying in the backseat along with the others. Chloe rolled her eyes, slightly overwhelmed by how much stuff he'd convinced her to let him buy. She was definitely going to regret that later.

"So do want to go out to eat or do you want to go back to the house?" Oliver asked, closing the car door.

Chloe shrugged. "Which ever. What do want to do?"

"Well considering I'm out of food at home, why don't we go get something? What do you want?"

"I chose last time. It's your turn."

Five minutes later, they were sitting in a little booth at the diner. They were both scanning the menu in companionable silence. Chloe was sitting low in the chair, her feet propped in the booth beside Oliver. Her feet were killing her.

Oliver closed his menu and dropped it on the table. He glanced at her and her position and smirked. Reaching down, he pulled her feet into his lap, massaging them gently.

Chloe suppressed a groan. "You're amazing, you know that?"

His smirk broadened. "I could stand to hear it more often. You looked like you need it."

She began to answer, but was cut off by the sound of her phone. Digging it out of her purse, she glanced at the screen and moaned.

"What?" Oliver asked curiously.

"Lois."

"Have fun with that." Oliver grinned and gently moved her feet back to the booth.

Chloe glared at him and flipped the phone open. "Hey, Lois."

"Hey cuz. How're you hanging in there?"

"Fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

She could practically hear Lois rolling her eyes. "Billionaire boy is still in Star City and you're stuck in Smallville. I know how you get when he's not around."

"I'm not that bad," Chloe pouted.

"Chlo," Lois laughed. "It's sad how bad you get the separation blues when he's off at work."

"Whatever Lois," Chloe sighed. "And for your information, Oliver made it back a few days ago. We've been hanging out."

"What?" Lois screeched. "Why didn't you tell me he was back?"

Chloe shrugged. "We were busy."

She regretted the words the moment they were out of her mouth and felt ice run through her veins at the sound of Lois' quick intake of breath. "You two are totally sleeping together, aren't you?"

Setting her elbow on the table, Chloe rubbed her temple. "Lois, we are not sleeping together. We're not ready for that yet."

"Yeah right," Lois scoffed. "He's a billionaire playboy. Or he used to be before you introduced him to the concept of monogamy. He's used to getting it regularly. Do you really think that a teenager who's used to regular orgasmic bliss is really going to quit cold turkey?"

Chloe's lips thinned. "What exactly are you suggesting?"

"Don't worry. I'm not suggesting that he's sleeping around. I'm just saying that your boyfriend is suffering one hell of a case of blue balls. He's got to be dying."

"Lois, I am not having this conversation with you," Chloe hissed, just barely controlling her annoyance. "Not right now."

"Why not?" Lois demanded. "C'mon cuz. Sate my curiosity!"

"Sate?" Chloe repeated. "What is that? Your word of the day?"

"Something like that."

"Anyway, I'm not having this conversation. I'm out with Oliver and our dinner will be here any minute."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. So what was the sex like?"

Chloe groaned, letting her head drop back against the booth. Across from her, Oliver smirked. She shot him a murderous glare and turned her attention back to Lois.

"I am going to say this once, and only once, so listen closely, Lois," she hissed, lowering her voice so that no one could hear. "Oliver and I are not having sex. When we do, I'm not going to come tell you the intimate details of our personal lives. So drop it. Tell the general I said hi and I'll talk to you later."

Chloe snapped the phone shut over Lois' protests and shoved it back in her purse. Oliver grinned.

"You know, we are technically sleeping together, right?" he asked, his eyes dancing.

"Shut up," Chloe muttered, throwing a napkin at him. It fluttered to the table between them. "You have no idea what she's going to do to me when she gets back. She's convinced that we have to have sex for this relationship to go anywhere."

With a sigh, Oliver stood and moved to sit beside her. He pulled her close to his side. "I know that Lois can be a pain in the ass and that she doesn't know when to quit. But have you actually told her why we're waiting?"

Chloe blushed. "Not really."

"Why not?"

"I don't know," she murmured. "I just don't think she'll understand and it's private. She may be my cousin, but she doesn't need to know about our relationship. Not like that."

"And I completely agree, but maybe you should tell her. Then if she doesn't agree, we'll take it from there."

"All right," Chloe nodded. "When she gets back in town, I'll talk to her."

Oliver kissed her temple. "Do you want me to be there?"

"No," she sighed. "I should deal with Lois on my own."

"Understandable," Oliver said. "Just know, that if you need me, I'm here."

Chloe smiled. "I know. Just do me a favor. If she kills me? Don't do something stupid."

"I can't make any promises," he laughed. "If she kills you, I'll probably get royally pissed off. No telling what might happen."

She sighed in mock disappointment. "In that case, I'll ask Clark to make sure that you don't do something crazy."

Oliver laughed and hugged her close. "If something happens to you, I doubt even Clark could stop me."

"In that case, I'll come back and haunt your pretty little ass."

"You're welcome to any time."

"Glad I have your permission."

The server made her way over to the table for their order. Oliver kissed Chloe's cheek one last time, then picked up his menu for one last glance at his order. She'd managed to surprise him again, just when he thought she couldn't any more. He knew that Chloe and Lois told each other everything, mostly because Lois had no concept of personal information and couldn't take no for an answer. He'd expected Chloe to tell Lois pretty much everything about what happened between them, minus the meteor freaks. But she hadn't. Instead, she'd kept that information from Lois knowing what it meant for Oliver. He wasn't embarrassed by his past. He'd done what he done and he'd been who he'd been. He knew that. And as much has regretted it, he wasn't going to let it define their relationship.

Chloe had hinted that Lois had made comments about their lack of intimacy and he suspected that it was in part because of his past. Oliver had been sure that Chloe would tell Lois why they were waiting. But she hadn't, even to get Lois off her back. And he suspected that she had done it so that Lois wouldn't be on his case. None of Oliver's other girlfriends, if you could call them that, had ever cared about him enough to put themselves in an uncomfortable position so that he wouldn't be. And it made him love her all the more.

Author's Note: The story is definitely wrapping up. I am literally begging for reviews. I'm planning a sequel and the more reviews I get the easier it is to write the sequel. Any help is most definitely appreciated, even if the reviews are negative. I also apologize for the strange formatting. For some reason FF won't let me save any changes I make to the uploaded documents. So hopefully, this will work for now. If it's difficult to read, check out my LJ. Everything is posted there and the link is posted on my profile.


	17. Chapter 17

Title: Twist of Fate

Rating: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

Summary: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

Warning: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

Author's Note: I didn't get many reviews last chapter. Please review. As I said before, I'm planning a sequel and any feedback I get would be extremely helpful. Again, I apologize for the formatting. FF isn't letting me save changes to my uploaded documents.

* * *

Chapter 17

"Are you sure about this?"

Oliver laughed. "Yes I'm sure."

"Because I can deal with Lois if you want me to stay."

"You know if you're not home when she gets back there'll be hell to pay."

"As if I haven't taken hell from Lois before," Chloe scoffed. "Are you sure you'll be all right tonight?"

"I'll be fine. I've only had one more nightmare and that was four days ago. No problems since then. I'm not even being overprotective," Oliver said proudly.

Chloe ignored the last statement. "If something happens, call me. I don't care what time it is." She was still freaked by how violent his nightmares had been.

"Don't worry, I will. Now go. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"All right," Chloe grumbled.

"Should I be flattered that you're so reluctant to leave me?" Oliver joked.

Her face relaxed. "Probably. But I'll leave that up to you to decide. See you tomorrow." She leaned across the console and kissed him one last time.

Oliver watched her walk into the house, his heart sinking slightly. As positive as he'd been before, he really wasn't sure he was ready to spend the night alone. It sounded ridiculous, even inside his own head, but having Chloe there beside him as he slept helped him remember that she was alive and well. He honestly wasn't sure how he'd fare without that living reminder.

But he was going to find out. Chloe had been through enough without having to dodge Lois. Sighing, Oliver put the car in gear and drove away.

(Story Break)

"Wake up! NOW!"

Groaning, Chloe rolled onto her side and glanced at her alarm clock. It was two in the morning.

"Come on, cuz!" Lois shouted. "Up and at 'em. We need to talk."

"Lois, it is freakishly early in the morning and we have school. What the hell do you want?" Chloe snapped.

Lois crossed her arms and glared at Chloe. "I get into town and the first thing I find out is that you and Oliver were attacked by psycho bitch and that she kidnapped you. Why the hell didn't you tell me?"

"Oliver and I had a lot to deal with," Chloe sighed. She should have known that this conversation was coming and she should have prepared but she didn't. "It was really hard on both of us. I wasn't ready to tell the story again. We already had to do it once with the paper. I wasn't trying to keep it from you, Lo. I was just trying to deal with it."

At that answer, Lois seemed slightly mollified. She crossed her arms and sat on the edge of the bed. "So what happened."

Chloe groaned, but quickly recounted the story, leaving out no detail, except for the meteor rock elements. The angry quickly left Lois' body as the story went on. When Chloe was done, her cousin was staring at her.

"God, Chlo. I can't believe that happened to you. No wonder you and Oliver were holed up all week." Lois shook her head. "I never would have guessed that Veronica was capable of that."

"No one did," Chloe shrugged. "Now is that all? Can I go back to sleep now?"

Lois' eyes narrowed. "Nope. There's something else we need to talk about."

"And what might that be?" Chloe asked tiredly, her patience wearing thin.

"I know you don't like me prying into your personal life and your relationship with Oliver," Lois said slowly, for once choosing her words carefully. "But I have got to say this. I know that you're the one holding up the ginormous red stop sign in this relationship, but if you don't give that boy sex soon, he's going to walk away."

"Come on, Lois!" Chloe groaned. "You and Oliver are friends. How can you say that about him?"

"It's facts," Lois said stubbornly. "Honestly, I hold Ollie in the highest regards. He's a decent human being, and that's rare among guys, especially the guys from his circle. Just look at Lex. But the fact is, he is a guy and a guy who was used to regular sex before he fell for you. The other shoe is going to drop eventually and though you're both going to regret it, it is going to happen. Now I know you're little miss goody two shoes, but a little action wouldn't do you any harm."

"Okay stop right there," Chloe said angrily. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh really? Then tell me how I'm wrong!"

"Lois, it's really none of your business."

"Yes it is. You're my baby cousin. I have the right to be nosy and invasive when I'm worried that said cousin is going to get her heart broken!"

"Damn it! Oliver is the one holding up the stop sign!"

Lois' mouth dropped open. "What?"

"You heard me," Chloe snapped. "Every relationship Oliver has ever had was based on sex and he doesn't want that to happen to us. He wants to wait until we are both sure that it is the right time, and that is not going to change, no matter how much prodding we get from you. Now drop it and let me go sleep!"

Without waiting for a response, Chloe rolled onto her side, pulled the covers up to her chin and promptly ignored Lois. She felt her cousin sitting there for several more minutes before getting up and moving across the room to her own bed.

In all the commotion, Chloe never heard her phone go off.

(Story Break)

Standing on the steps to Smallville High, Oliver was waiting anxiously for Chloe to arrive. He'd his worst nightmare yet. He had awoke in a cold sweat, wanting nothing more than to feel Chloe beside him, alive and warm. But she wasn't there. Desperate to hear her voice, he'd grabbed his phone and hit the speed dial, but she hadn't answered. He'd been halfway out the door before he realized that if he showed up at her doorstep in the middle of the night, he'd freak her out and that was the last thing he wanted. So Oliver had attempted to go back to sleep. It hadn't helped and he desperately needed to see her. He knew that people were looking at him strangely. The whole town was buzzing with what Veronica had done. She was one of the most popular girls in town and her family was prominent. Oliver's and Chloe's part in the whole thing was just as well known and Oliver knew that it meant they'd get a lot a of attention

When he caught sight of her, walking down the sidewalk, it felt as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. She was walking between Clark and Lois, who was chattering non stop. Chloe looked like she was trying not to strangle her cousin.

Oliver hurried down the steps and hurried toward them. Clark saw him coming and quickly grabbed Lois' arm, making some excuse before dragging her off. Chloe stared after them in confusion, completely oblivious to Oliver's approach.

He grabbed her in a crushing hug, burying his face in her hair. Chloe gasped and stiffened just briefly until she realized who it was and returned the embrace.

"Sorry I scared you," Oliver murmured. "I just..." he trailed off.

"What happened?" Chloe whispered.

He laughed shakily. She always was so good at reading him. For a moment, he didn't answer and simply pulled her tighter.

"Ollie," Chloe said timidly. "What is it?"

Shuddering slightly, Oliver pulled back. He couldn't meet her eyes as he spoke. "I had another nightmare," he admitted in a quiet voice. "It was worse than the others. By the time I got to the warehouse, you were already dead. You were just laying there. You were so pale and cold. And then Veronica was standing there telling me how it was my fault, that as you were dying you blamed me. I could see you doing it. I could see you telling me that you were dead because of me. Then I was stuck in some dark place with nothing but your lifeless body. And when I woke up, you weren't there and I thought it was all real. I thought-"

His voice broke and he shuddered again, harder than before. Chloe wrapped her arms more tightly around his waist, pressing her face against his chest. "It's okay," she whispered. "I'm right here. I'm so sorry I wasn't there last night. I should have stayed. I could have dealt with Lois later. Because she came storming in last night, I must not have heard the phone."

"It's not your fault," Oliver murmured, still shaking. "We both thought it would be better if you didn't stay. And it's not your fault you didn't hear the phone.I just...I just needed to see you. I needed proof that you were here. God, I feel like such an idiot. You're handling this way better than me and you're the one that was actually kidnapped."

Pulling back so Chloe could see his face, she whispered, "Hey. It's not your fault. I...I've been having nightmares, too. They haven't woken me up as much. But um...usually I'm dead and sort of haunting you I guess. You can't see me, but I can see you. The look in your eyes, that pain. It was the same look I saw in my dad's eyes when mom left. Knowing that you're feeling that because of me, that I left you like my mom did. And the fact that I'm right there and I can't do anything to make it right.

"But those aren't the worst," she admitted. "The ones that are real nightmares are the ones where she takes you instead of me. And I'm the one that's too late. I've saved so many people from the meteor freaks and in my dreams I can't save you. Or, she takes both of us and I have to watch. That one actually woke me up this morning. Lois thought someone had gotten in the house and gone after me. I freaked her out."

Oliver cupped her cheek. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You had enough to deal with," she answered quietly. "I'm used to this. I knew how bad it was and I didn't want to make it worse."

Though his heart melted at her words, Oliver looked at Chloe sternly. "Listen to me. I don't care what's going on in my life, you can tell me anything. I want to know what is going in your life. Next time, tell me when something like this happens. And when you have another one of these dreams, tell me about it. I mean, I'm telling you about my dreams. It'll make me feel like less of an idiot if you do."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "You're not an idiot, Ollie. It doesn't matter that you're having nightmares. I don't care. It's not like it makes you any less of a man or anything."

"That's not what I'm worried about," he said quickly, which was only half true, but he wasn't going to admit that to her. "I'm worried that you're not going to deal with this because you're trying to help me deal."

"Helping you deal is helping me deal, but I get your point," she quickly added at the sight of his expression. "The next time it happens, I'll tell you."

Oliver smiled in relief. "Thank you."

Standing on her toes, Chloe kissed him gently. "So on another note, how bad do you think the rumors are going to be today?"

"I think there will be lots of funny looks," he admitted. "But I don't think it will be too bad. I'm not sure anyone really liked Veronica. Can't be worse than anything else that's happened."

"Hey!" Chloe whacked his arm. "You totally just jinxed us!"

"I did no such thing," he objected.

"You totally did! Now something, I don't know what, but something will happen."

"When did you get so superstitious?" Oliver teased.

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "You do realize where we are right? Smallville? Meteor freak capital of the world? Our best friend is an intergalactic space traveller? Any of this ringing a bell?"

"All right, all right. I get it. You have every reason to be superstitious. What do I need to do to removed the jinx?" His eyes twinkled with humor as he looked down at her.

"Throw salt over your shoulder?" Chloe suggested. "Knock on wood? Oh, I know! Swallow meteor rock."

"Are you trying to turn me into a murdering psycho?" Oliver demanded with mock indignation.

She thought about it for a minute. "No, you right. I like you too much to do that to you."

Oliver chuckled and kissed her hair. "Come on, let's go face the masses."

(Story Break)

The day actually wasn't that bad. As Oliver had predicted, Veronica hadn't been that well liked and most people were just amazed that the two of them had survived that kind of ordeal. Aside from a few odd looks, nothing out of the usual happened.

Chloe headed to the Torch at lunch. She was thinking of writing an article for the school paper, just to make sure that no wild rumors got started about what had happened. But she'd barely made it inside when Oliver appeared in the door.

"Not happening," he said flatly.

"What?" she asked in surprised.

"You are not spending our first day back at school holed up in here. Come on. Clark and Lois are waiting for us." He held out his hand, waving her toward the door. Chloe took it and allowed him to pull her along.

Lois looked up sheepishly at Chloe when they sat down. Chloe was still royally ticked off and wasn't speaking to her beloved cousin, despite the nonstop chattering apology on the way to school. She hadn't told Oliver exactly what had happened, but he guessed that Lois had gotten in her face based on something she'd said when they were talking outside before school, so he sat between the cousins.

Clark looked between the three of them in confusion, then caught Oliver's eyes silently asking what was going on. Oliver shrugged and gave him a don't worry about it look.

"So how as your break, Clark?" Oliver asked aloud, breaking the silence.

"All right," Clark shrugged. "Pretty normal. I just helped out on the farm."

"Don't you do anything fun?" Lois teased.

"I like working on the farm," Clark replied defensively.

"But it's work!" Lois wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"There's nothing wrong with that!"

"If you think work is fun, then there is something seriously wrong with you!"

"That's just because you're afraid you'll break a nail."

Lois turned red. "Just because I don't enjoy farm work, doesn't mean I'm afraid to get my hands dirty. I grew up on more army bases than you can count. I'm not some lazy ass slacker, farmboy."

Gathering her books and flinging them over her shoulder with more force than necessary, Lois stood and stomped away. Looking horrorstruck, Clark followed her.

"Come on, Lois!" he called after her.

Oliver watched them with raised eyebrows then turned back to Chloe. "What's wrong with her?"

Looking guilty, Chloe chewed her lip. "I think she's still smarting after last night. She came in, reading me the riot act about not telling her what happened with Veronica and from there she moved on to yelling at me for being the one holding up the stop sign in our relationship. I lost my temper and yelled at her. I've been giving her the cold shoulder since we got up this morning."

"You know she feels bad if she's acting like that," Oliver pointed out.

"I know," she said grudgingly. "But I'm not quite willing to forgive her just yet. She burst into the room at two in the morning and started yelling at me. I'm going to let her stew for a little bit longer."

Knowing that she was too stubborn to give in, Oliver just rolled his eyes and changed the conversation.

They'd been talking for several minutes when they became aware of someone standing beside their table. Oliver looked up and immediately stiffened while managing to keep his face calm.

"Something we can do for you, Lex?" he asked cooly.

Chloe moved the slightest bit closer to Oliver. She knew that Lex had only be indirectly responsible for what happened. But she never really trusted him to begin with and she didn't trust him any more now.

Lex cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for what happened. I was angry and jealous and I thought that I could use Veronica to get even, but I had no idea what she was going to do. I'm sorry that this got so out of hand and that you got hurt, Chloe."

She nodded slightly. "Thanks, Lex."

Reluctantly, Lex turned to Oliver. "As much as I don't like you, I didn't want something like that happening, not even to you. And while I will not apologize for my feelings toward you, I am sorry for what Veronica did and for my part in it."

Stunned by the apology, Oliver floundered for words and was unable to speak before Lex walked away.

"Well that was unexpected," Chloe murmured.

"Yeah it was," Oliver agreed.

(Story Break)

Later that day, after school was over, Chloe tracked Lois down at the Talon. She was sitting at a table in a corner, pouring over her homework, which was unusual for Lois. Chloe dropped her bag in a chair and stood awkwardly beside her cousin.

"Hey, Lo."

Lois just glared at her and slammed her book shut, picking up another one.

"I'm sorry," Chloe blurted out. "Things haven't been easy for me the last week. You just caught me at a bad time. I was having nightmares and I was worried about Oliver and you come bursting in like that. I lost it."

"Chloe I'm your cousin," Lois snapped. "You're supposed to trust me."

"I do, Lo. I meant what I said when I told you that I was going to tell you about the whole thing with Veronica. And I was going to tell you why Oliver and I are taking things so slowly. But it was just a really bad time for you to get on my case about it."

Lois sighed. "I know. And I'm sorry for that. I was just worried about you. I come home to find out that my cousin nearly got herself killed by the psycho jealous bitch. On top of that, and you know I love Ollie almost as much as you do just in a different way, but he's a guy and while I would love to give him the benefit of the doubt, I can't help but worry that you're going to get your heart broken. Now that I know what's going on, I'm not worrying. If you'd just told me, this wouldn't have been a problem."

"That's the thing, Lo," Chloe sighed. "It wasn't your business. I get that you're just trying to look out for me, but it's my life and my relationship. I should have to tell you why Ollie and I are taking it slow unless I want to. And I wanted to keep it private. All I ask is that next time you respect that."

"Point taken. I will do my best to respect personal boundaries in the future. Am I forgiven?"

Chloe smiled. "I guess."

Lois rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'll see you later. As much as I hate to admit it, I have to apologize to Smallville. I was real bitch to him earlier. Do you think he's at the farm?"

"Probably," Chloe nodded. "I'm gonna go talk to Ollie. I may not be home. And before you jump to conclusions, that whole thing with Veronica's been hard on both of us. Ollie's been having nightmares. I think they're worse when I'm not there and I feel bad after last night. And if you tell anyone what I just tell you I swear to God, Lois, I will never speak to you again, you got that!"

Lois mimed locking her lips. "I won't tell a soul. I can keep secrets you know."

"Sure you can, Lois. Just keep telling yourself that. I'll see you later, cuz."

(Story Break)

Fifteen minutes later, Chloe knocked on Oliver's door.

"It's open!" he shouted.

Chloe walked in, dropping her backpack and purse in the entryway before moving further into the house. She found Oliver in the living room, bent over his textbooks. He looked up when she entered the room.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his face lighting up.

"Thought you might like some company," she said, moving to sit beside him. Oliver kissed her cheek before turning back to his assignment.

"I'm not going to be good company," he said. "If I don't get this done, I'm screwed. But you're more than welcome to stay if you want to."

"I don't want to be in the way if you're trying to study," Chloe said hesitantly.

"You're not in the way." He dropped his pencil on the coffee table and turned to look at her. "What's the matter? And don't try to deny it. You know I can always tell with something is wrong."

Chloe sighed and looked at her hands in her lap. "I feel bad that I wasn't there for you last night."

"It's no use arguing with you, is it?"

"Well, that's not all of it. I also might have missed you last night."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "What about Lois?"

"I talked to her and she won't make trouble."

"So what's the plan for tonight?"

Chloe shrugged. "I was thinking I could sleep on the couch tonight. I'll feel better knowing you're close and if it gets bad during the night we're right there for each other. It'll help us get used to being alone at night. I don't think we were ready to be alone after what happened."

"After last night, I would definitely have to agree," Oliver said dryly. "And I like your plan, but with one ammendment."

She raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue.

"We sleep together tonight. I really need it after that last nightmare."

"I can work with that," Chloe said, biting her lip.

"Do you need to pick up some clothes?"

She shook her head. "I may have come prepared. Just let me go get my backpack so I can do some homework."

Grinning Oliver pulled her close for a kiss. "Have I mentioned that I love you?"

"Not today."

"Well in that case, I love you."

"I love you too, Ollie. Now let me go so I can get my homework."

"Yes ma'am."

That evening, if anyone had looked in the window, they would have seen two normal people enjoying each other's company. When they were with each other, Chloe wasn't the editor of the Torch or the girl that was regularly attacked by meteor freaks and Oliver wasn't the billionaire playboy of the tabloids. They were just a boy and a girl, brought together by the strangest circumstances, from two different worlds, who'd somehow fallen for each other. And that was all that mattered.

Author's Note: LAST CHAPTER! I have an epilogue to post. But this fic is officially put to bed.


	18. Epilogue

Title: Twist of Fate

Rating: PG-13 (Just to be safe. It's mostly mild language and some violence in later chapters, but I don't see it going any further than that. If it does, the rating will change accordingly.

Summary: Oliver finds himself at Smallville high. There he meets Chloe, who changes everything and introduces him to the world of the meteor infected. But will his new-found happiness be threatened by an old enemy?

Warning: This is pretty much AU. I'm going to try to work in as much as I can from the series, but the time-line is all mine. Characters have been aged as I see fit to get them all in High School together, which makes Oliver a year older the Chloe, who is a junior. Chloe knows Clark's secret and Lois is living in Smallville with her cousin.

Epilogue

Half the town was crowded into the gym. The ceiling was strung with streamers and banners. Balloons floated everywhere. One wall was lined with tables where volunteers, mostly grandmothers, were distributing food. People were standing around, paper plates in hand, talking animatedly. Dotted throughout the crowd were students wearing their bright yellow graduation ropes.

Chloe pushed her way through the masses, looking for her cousin and her boyfriend, both of whom had graduated. She'd lost track of them after the ceremony since she's run to the Torch to drop of her notes for the article she had to write for the last edition. Underclassmen still had classes for a week.

Her search unsuccessful, Chloe moved outside where families were taking pictures and milling around, enjoying the early summer warmth. She wished, not for the first time, that she had a few more inches of height so that she could see over people better. Standing beside the large banner that had been erected in honor of the graduating class, Chloe pulled out her cellphone. It was dead, as it had been the past four times she'd checked it. She shoved it back in her purse with a grimace.

An arm slid about her waist, and she felt herself being pulled close to a hard body. "Have you been avoiding me?" Oliver teased, gently kissing her cheek.

She leaned against him, allowing his body to practically consume her. "Hardly," she said with a wry grin. "I had to drop some stuff off at the Torch for the article on graduation."

"You sure that's not just an excuse to get away from me?"

Chloe looked up at him with a mock hurt expression. "Are you honestly implying that I'm trying to avoid you?"

Leaning down, Oliver captured her lips is a slow, passionate kiss that left her feeling breathless. "Never," he smirked.

She rolled her eyes. "You are ridiculous."

"Only with you."

Smiling warmly, Chloe wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her head against his chest. "Congratulations," she said softly.

"Thank you," Oliver murmured, returning the embrace.

"So what's next?" she asked, looking up at him.

He grimaced. "I don't know. We've only got a months before I have to go back to Star City for school..." Oliver trailed off. He'd been accepted at Star City University, the premiere ivy league west coast business school. It was the perfect opportunity for him to prove to the Queen Industries Board of directors that he wasn't a completely sex crazed screw up. The school was respected. His father had graduated from SCU. It was what he needed if he ever wanted to be responsible for his company.

But it was halfway across the country. Attending SCU meant spending more of the year away from Chloe. He wasn't sure that it was worth it. He'd never even come close to attempting a long distance relationship before and he wasn't sure that he wanted to risk it, not with Chloe. They're relationship was too important to him.

"Hey! Earth to Oliver!" Chloe waved her hand in front of his face.

He blinked. "Sorry, what?"

"You were doing it again, weren't you?" she frowned.

"Doing what?" Oliver asked, unconvincingly feigning innocence.

She glared at him "Freaking yourself out about going to college in Star City."

"What would make you think that?"

"Ollie, you know you can't hide anything from me. Why do you keep trying?"

Oliver sighed. "Because I don't want you to worry. It's bad enough that I am."

"Well you need to stop," Chloe said firmly. "This is going to work. We have survived gossip mongering teenagers, psychotic meteor freaks, and the nosiest relative on the planet. I think we can handle school."

"Chlo, we aren't talking about weekends or a couple of weeks here and there," he pointed out. "I'm going to be gone for the majority of nine months. I won't even get to come back during break because I'll probably be working at Queen Industries."

"And I'll be calling you so much my dad'll probably kill me for the overage charges," Chloe joked. "Seriously, though. You know we'll be calling and texting and video chatting. And don't forget that I have the Clark Kent express at my disposal. It's not as if we won't be able to see each other. Besides," she added, moving closer to him, "you know that you need this. I'm not about to be the reason that you lose your company."

Oliver laughed quietly under his breath. He raised his hand to caress her cheek. "All right. I'll stop worrying. But you have to promise me that we'll last through this. And that you'll apply to SCU next year."

Leaning into his touch, Chloe rolled her eyes. "That's a given, Ollie. Now will you lighten up? You're totally ruining the happy mood that comes with graduation."

He nodded and reached down to take her hand. "I think I can manage that."

There was something in his tone that made her look up. Oliver captured her lips in a fiery kiss that was almost indecent. Chloe felt herself arching into him automatically. She felt his hand on the small of her back, pressing her close. His tongue swept across the seam of her lips. She parted her mouth for him automatically.

"Break it up you two!" Lois shouted, bodily separating them.

"Nice to see you, Lois," Oliver said flatly, glaring at her.

She smiled brightly at him, before spinning on her heal to face Chloe. "So cuz. What are we going to do to celebrate my miraculous graduation?"

Chloe arched an eyebrow. "You do realize that you have a flight in three hours because the General is whisking you away to some exotic and remote location, right? You and I aren't doing anything."

"You wound me," Lois pouted.

"You'll get over it."

"Aren't you supposed to be my family? You should be happy that I actually managed to graduate."

"And I am," Chloe assured her. "But you and I both know that we don't have time to go do anything, especially considering that you still haven't packed. You'll be lucky to get out of the house on time as it is."

Lois glared at her cousin, but her retort was cut short by the appearance of Clark.

"Hey guys, I've been looking for you. I just finished helping mom and dad bring in the last of the produce for the pitch in."

"Aww, putting those muscles to good use, Smallville?" Lois asked, a sarcastic smile on her face.

Clark rolled his eyes. "Yes, Lois. Because we couldn't have someone as delicate as you carrying boxes of carrots and potatoes."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Clark said innocently.

Lois narrowed her eyes. Unceremoniously, she grabbed Clark's arm and dragged him away, grumbling, "I'll show you how delicate I am."

Oliver chuckled, the sound rumbling in his chest. Leaning aback against him, Chloe looked up and asked, "Do you think they'll ever get together?"

"Only if Clark get's hit over the head with meteor rock."

"What about Lois?"

Oliver thought for a moment. "Drunk off her ass?"

She elbowed him in the gut lightly. "Be nice, that's my cousin you're talking about."

"Well, it's true," he objected.

"Doesn't mean you shouldn't be nice."

"I'll try," he sighed resignedly, rolling his eyes comically.

Chloe laughed at his antics and poked him.

"Stop that," Oliver admonished. "There's something I need to talk to you about."

She cocked her head at that and led him to a nearby bench. "Sorry," she said apologetically. "My feet are killing me in these heels. What do you want to talk about?"

"Well, I was thinking that we could spend as much time together this summer as humanly possible to make school a little bit easier," he said slowly."

"Makes sense," Chloe said with a grin.

He shot her a look that clearly said "this is important, so stop making jokes." She held up her hands in surrender and gestured for him to go on.

"Adam Reynolds and George Masters, the board member who's been helping me out, have arranged for a boating trip this summer so that I can mingle with the rest of the board. We're..." he paused for a minute and looked down at his hands before going on. "We're actually headed out to where my parents' plane went down. Sort of a goodbye to the past, I guess. Anyway, I can't get out of it, so I was hoping that you would come with me."

"Oh, Ollie," Chloe said softly. "I'd love to. When are you supposed to leave?"

"Week after next."

Her forehead creased. "I've got the Daily Planet internship. I have to be there the first week of June. It lasts the whole month. I thought I told you that."

Oliver groaned. "You did. I forgot. They just called me about this last night."

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I wish I could go. I want to be there for you. This is an amazing opportunity for you to come to terms with your past and become the amazing CEO I know you can be. Besides, what kind of girlfriend would I be if I left you to the sharks?" she joked weakly.

"A smart one?"

Her lips quirked up in a small smile. "I don't suppose there's a way I could meet you when my internship's done, is there?"

"No. We'll already be on our way back. It'll only be a few more weeks before we're in Star City again. It's supposed to take two and half weeks to reach the destination, we'll spend a day there and then we'll spend another two and half weeks coming back. It's five weeks total, a little over a month or pure torture." He pulled a face before breaking into a grin. "Which will make finally seeing you again, that much more amazing."

"Aww. You sweet talker. I can't believe we're gonna be in two different places for half the summer." Chloe looked up at him ruefully. "We just can't catch a break, can we?"

"Apparently not."

"You'll stay in touch?" she asked, her voice quiet.

Oliver wrapped his arms around her, tugging her close to his chest. "So much you'll get sick of me."

"I don't think that's possible," she laughed. "Just keep in mind my long distance charges. I don't want my dad to kill you when you get back."

"That would just be a tragedy," he said with a mock serious expression.

Chloe slapped his chest lightly. "Don't joke about something like that."

He kissed her apologetically. "Sorry."

"Forgiven. Now what are we going to do with the few days we have?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.

"I say we go back to my place and hang out."

Chloe bit her lips, a wide grin spreading across her face. "I like the way you think, Mr. Queen."

"I thought you would."

(Story Break)

Oliver stood on the edge of the dock, separate from the group of men wearing suits and ties at the opposite end of the dock, while he waited for the captain and small crew to finish checking everything over. The boat had been sitting there since he'd bought it two years ago on a whim, strictly to impress girls.

It was Thursday afternoon, less than a week after graduation and he'd left Kansas the day before. He already missed Chloe, but he knew she was right. It was the chance he needed to come to terms with his past and to prove that he wasn't an idiot. He knew he'd never stop missing his parents, but if he did this, maybe he'd feel a little bit better.

"All right, everyone!" the captain shouted. "Looks like everything's in order. We can set off any time you're ready!"

"Thanks!" Oliver yelled back before turning to the group of board members. "Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable," he said with a forced smile.

He stood aside so that they could board the vessel, feeling like he was about to enter the ninth circle of hell. Sighing, he picked up his duffel bag and threw it over his shoulder. Most of his stuff was already on board. The bag just contained whatever he'd brought from Smallville.

As he shifted the strap on his shoulder and started toward the boat, mentally cursing the executives that were keeping him from spending the summer with his girlfriend, a gust of wind caught him in the back. If he hadn't spent so much time around Clark, he'd have thought it was a draft off the ocean. As it was, the hair on the back of Oliver's neck stood up and he turned around.

Chloe grinned at him and waved. "Hi."

Oliver gaped at her.

"What's the matter?" she asked, eyebrow cocked. "Did you swallow your tongue or something?"

He didn't speak, just stared at her.

"Seriously," she laughed. "What's wrong with you?"

Dropping his bag on the ground, he moved toward her slowly and finally found his voice. "What are you doing here? I thought you were still in Smallville for school."

"I was," she shrugged. "Clark gave me a lift. I'm sure he's still around here somewhere. He didn't' want to risk being seen. Did you really think I was going to let you leave without a proper send off."

Oliver grinned and swept her into her arms, spinning her around happily. "You're amazing!"

"I know," she giggled.

Setting her back on her feet, Oliver captured her lips. The kiss started out tender, but quickly escalated. Their bodies pressed together as tightly as possible. Chloe latched her arms around Oliver's neck and he fastened his hands to her waist. Their tongues dueled in a fiery dance of intense, unbridle passion. When air became imperative, Oliver pulled back, pressing his forehead to hers.

"God, I"m going to miss that."

"Definitely," she agreed, panting slightly. "You're going to be able to stay in touch, right?"

Oliver nodded. "I have a satellite phone, so we don't have to worry about whether or not there's cell service and my laptop is hooked up to the satellite too. I'll video chat you at least once a week, probably more like every day. I'll be texting you constantly. We'll stay in touch. No matter what it takes. Seriously, you will get tired of talking to me."

"I doubt that," Chloe chuckled. "But if you accomplish that, I'll give you a prize."

"You do realize that challenging me is a bad idea, right?"

"Maybe I like living dangerously"

He pulled her into his arms again, burying his face against her neck. "I'm really going to miss you, Chlo."

"I know," she whispered. "I'll miss you too. But it won't be that long before you're back."

"Believe me, I'm making this trip as short as possible. As important as it is, it's not worth being away from you that long."

"Take all the time you need. I know it's important."

"Not as important as you," he argued. Chloe knew he was smirking.

"Don't start that," she admonished. "Now go get on the boat before it leaves without you and start schmoozing."

Oliver shook his head. "Still trying to get rid of me. I should be offended."

"Keep stalling and I'll definitely offend you," she grumbled, pushing him toward the boat."

He laughed. "All right, all right. Sheesh. Shouldn't you be begging me to stay?"

"Nope," Chloe laughed. "I'm a supportive girlfriend."

"Oh, is that it?"

"Yep."

Bending down, Oliver retrieved his bag from the ground. "Do me a favor," he said as he straightened up. "Try to avoid psychotic meteor freaks while I'm gone. I don't want to get a call tell me you've gotten yourself hurt, all right?"

She nodded seriously. "I'm sure Clark will stick to me like glue and I promise that I'll say behind the computer as much as possible."

"Thank you," he said sincerely. "I don't want to spend the whole time worrying about you."

"Well try not to get eaten by sharks," Chloe teased. "I don't want to find out that you did an impression of Jaws."

Oliver laughed. "All right." He tossed his bag over the railing, then turned back to Chloe, kissing her one last time. Then reached up and pulled a chain over his head. Taking Chloe's hand in his, he pressed it into her hand. She looked at in confusion. "What is this, Oliver?"

"It was my Dad's," he said. "He gave it to me before he and Mom left on their trip. Told me to get it safe. It's been passed down for years. I've always worn it. But I want you to keep hold of it until I get back."

Slipping the chain over her neck, she whispered, "Thank you."

His eyes smoldered. "I love you, Chloe. I promise to call you every day and I'll be back before you know it."

"I love you too, Ollie," she whispered.

He smiled gently and climbed into the boat. The captain immediately started the engine and pulled away form the dock.

"Be safe!" Chloe shouted. She stood on the end of the dock until the boat disappeared from view. The moment it was gone, Clark materialize by her side, scooped her into his arms, and sped her off to Smallville.

Author's Note: So my happy ending isn't so happy. I'm sure you all know where this is going. Don't worry, I'm already working on the sequel. Review, review, review! The sooner you do, the sooner you read part two! (I must be high on lack of sleep. I'm starting to sound like Dr. Seuss.)


End file.
